Shiplake Church of England School

Shiplake Church of England School is performing very strongly overall. In this July 2026 full inspection, all evaluated areas — achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing — were judged to be at the strong standard, and safeguarding standards are met. Pupils achieve consistently above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics, disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND make excellent progress from their starting points, attendance is high, and behaviour is impeccable. The school's main strengths are its consistently high-quality curriculum and teaching, effective phonics and reading provision, ambitious early years practice, and highly effective inclusion. Leaders and governors are knowledgeable and rigorous, staff feel well supported, and parents are overwhelmingly positive. Personal development is excellent, with strong pastoral support and a wide range of wider opportunities that help pupils grow in confidence and independence. There are no serious weaknesses or underperforming areas. The report identifies only two refinement next steps: continuing to develop handwriting across the curriculum and further strengthening the already highly effective PSHE provision so pupils' knowledge is even deeper. Contextually, this is a small Church of England primary school with Nursery provision, serving 140 pupils in the Diocese of Oxford.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve consistently above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of key stage 2.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND make excellent progress from their starting points.
• Phonics outcomes are consistently above national averages and pupils at risk of falling behind are well supported.
• Pupils attend regularly, with overall absence and persistent absence well below national averages.
• Pupils behave impeccably, are kind and respectful, and settle quickly to learning.
• The curriculum is consistently high quality across subjects, with deliberate sequencing and strong vocabulary development.
• Teaching is highly effective, including in early reading, phonics and assessment-informed questioning.
• Early years provision is ambitious, inclusive and well sequenced, leading to very strong achievement by the end of Reception.
• Inclusion is highly effective, with personalised support for vulnerable pupils and strong partnership working.
• Leadership and governance are strong, with rigorous challenge, tailored staff development and positive staff wellbeing.
• Personal development and wellbeing provision is excellent, offering rich wider opportunities and effective pastoral support.
• Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils feel safe and know how to get help.

Areas for Improvement

• Handwriting across the curriculum is an area for further development.
• Personal, social and health education provision could be refined further to deepen pupils' knowledge and understanding.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Shiplake Church of England School attended 96.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.1% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at Shiplake Church of England School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Shiplake Church of England School had 16.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 11.0% of pupils at Shiplake Church of England School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.3% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Shiplake Church of England School received £7,510 and spent £7,794 for each of its 154 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £27,000 (£177 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Henley-On-Thames · Oxfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Shiplake Church of England School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Shiplake Church of England School is Strong standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Shiplake Church of England School last inspected by Ofsted?

Shiplake Church of England School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Shiplake Church of England School have?

Shiplake Church of England School has 154 pupils on roll.

What age range does Shiplake Church of England School cover?

Shiplake Church of England School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Shiplake Church of England School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 86% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Shiplake Church of England School?

Shiplake Church of England School is at Memorial Avenue, Shiplake, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 4DN.