St Matthew's Church of England Aided Primary School and Nursery Centre

St Matthew’s Church of England Aided Primary School and Nursery Centre has been found to be a warm and welcoming environment where pupils feel happy and engaged. The school emphasizes strong relationships among pupils, their families, and the wider community. Although students demonstrate respect, responsibility, and resilience, challenges remain in delivering the curriculum consistently across subjects, especially in teaching reading and adapting the curriculum for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This ungraded inspection marks the school's first evaluation since the COVID-19 pandemic and indicates a need for ongoing improvement in various academic areas.

Strengths

• Strong relationships foster a supportive environment for pupils and families.
• Pupils show kindness and care towards each other.
• The school effectively manages pupil behavior, leading to a generally positive atmosphere.
• Pupils engage in leadership roles and extra-curricular activities, promoting personal growth.
• Effective handling of attendance issues with support from parents and carers.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent implementation of the curriculum leading to gaps in pupils' learning.
• Reading program delivery is not secure, affecting some pupils' fluency.
• Curriculum adaptations for pupils with SEND are not always precise, impacting their learning.
• Governance has not provided sufficient challenge to school leaders regarding educational quality.

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 St Matthew's Church of England Aided Primary School and Nursery Centre attended 94.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.8% 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, 1.0% of pupils at St Matthew's Church of England Aided Primary School and Nursery Centre 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 St Matthew's Church of England Aided Primary School and Nursery Centre had 21.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.4% 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, 14.1% of pupils at St Matthew's Church of England Aided Primary School and Nursery Centre were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.4% 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 St Matthew's Church of England Aided Primary School and Nursery Centre received £7,487 and spent £7,815 for each of its 281 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £29,000 (£103 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

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What is St Matthew's Church of England Aided Primary School and Nursery Centre's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Matthew's Church of England Aided Primary School and Nursery Centre is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was St Matthew's Church of England Aided Primary School and Nursery Centre last inspected by Ofsted?

St Matthew's Church of England Aided Primary School and Nursery Centre was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does St Matthew's Church of England Aided Primary School and Nursery Centre have?

St Matthew's Church of England Aided Primary School and Nursery Centre has 291 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Matthew's Church of England Aided Primary School and Nursery Centre cover?

St Matthew's Church of England Aided Primary School and Nursery Centre for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Matthew's Church of England Aided Primary School and Nursery Centre's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Matthew's Church of England Aided Primary School and Nursery Centre?

St Matthew's Church of England Aided Primary School and Nursery Centre is at Church Road, Donnington Wood, Telford, Shropshire, TF2 7PZ.