Vallis First School

Vallis First School is described as a rapidly improving and stable school with a warm, welcoming community. Inspectors judged the school good in every inspected area: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. The executive headteacher joined in September 2024, and the report notes that leaders have worked at pace to address previous curriculum weaknesses and improve attendance. Pupils are safe, well supported and behave well. Relationships between staff and pupils are strong, pastoral support is effective, and high behaviour expectations are applied consistently. The curriculum has been reviewed and updated so that it is more clearly organised, with a strong focus from Reception on vocabulary, language and reading. Mathematics has improved since the last inspection, including action to address weaker multiplication tables outcomes, and pupils with SEND are identified earlier and supported well. Personal development has been reinvigorated, and pupils benefit from a wide range of experiences, leadership roles and work on fairness, equality and difference. The main areas for improvement are in some foundation subjects. Some older pupils have gaps in prior knowledge, and the school does not check well enough that pupils have secured what they need before moving on. In some subjects, tasks are not closely matched to the intended learning, which limits how deeply pupils secure their knowledge. Governors are committed and share leaders' ambition, and safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Strengths

• Warm and welcoming community where pupils and staff feel valued
• Strong relationships and effective pastoral support help pupils feel safe
• High behaviour expectations are applied consistently
• Pupils are attentive, enthusiastic and calm around school
• The curriculum has been reviewed and better organised across subjects
• A strong focus on vocabulary and language begins in Reception
• Reading is taught well, with effective support for pupils who need extra help
• Mathematics has improved, including better times-table fluency
• Pupils with SEND are identified earlier and supported to access the curriculum
• Personal development is broad and helps pupils value difference
• Pupils take on leadership roles and contribute to the school and local community
• Attendance is improving through the school's work on attendance
• Governors are committed, ambitious and monitor the school's priorities
• Staff benefit from a carefully designed professional development programme

Areas for Improvement

• In some foundation subjects, older pupils have gaps in knowledge that make new learning harder
• The school does not check well enough that pupils have secured prior learning before moving on
• In some foundation subjects, tasks are not well matched to the learning pupils need to secure

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 Vallis First School attended 93.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.4% 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, 3.9% of pupils at Vallis First 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 Vallis First School had 31.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2023–24, 58.3% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 17.1%).

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, 20.5% of pupils at Vallis First School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.2% 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 Vallis First School received £8,251 and spent £8,447 for each of its 185 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £81,000 (-£438 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 Frome · Somerset local authority: places and applications

What is Vallis First School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Vallis First School is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was Vallis First School last inspected by Ofsted?

Vallis First School was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does Vallis First School have?

Vallis First School has 185 pupils on roll.

What age range does Vallis First School cover?

Vallis First School for pupils aged 4 to 9.

Where is Vallis First School?

Vallis First School is at Milk Street, Frome, Somerset, BA11 3DB.