Bowlish Infant School

Bowlish Infant School is a small, rural infant school that inspectors found has a warm, caring culture and strong personal development. Safeguarding standards are met, pupils feel safe, and relationships with staff are positive. The school's wider offer, including trips, clubs, a music workshop, charity work and the 'little leaders' programme, helps pupils develop confidence, respect and understanding of difference. Reading is a priority and phonics outcomes are in line with national averages. However, the school has been through a challenging period with staffing changes and turbulence that has slowed improvement. Overall effectiveness is expected standard, but most areas of the report card need attention. Personal development and wellbeing is the main area at expected standard, while achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, and leadership and governance require improvement. Disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND do not achieve as well as their peers, and some pupils have gaps in writing, mathematics, spelling, letter formation and number facts. Inspectors also flagged inconsistent teaching and curriculum delivery, insufficient adaptation for SEND, imprecise assessment checks, low-level disruption, high suspension rates, and too much persistent absence, especially among disadvantaged pupils. Early years provision has been affected by staffing changes, with variable quality of interactions and learning opportunities. Leaders and governors understand priorities but actions have not been precise or rigorous enough, so the school is not yet well prepared for the next stage. The next steps focus on inclusion, attendance, behaviour consistency, early years interactions, curriculum adaptation, and stronger governance oversight.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe.
• Warm, caring relationships and a welcoming school culture.
• Personal development and wellbeing provision is well considered and adapted to the rural context.
• Pupils learn respect, tolerance, diversity and fundamental British values.
• Pupils benefit from charity work, local fundraising, trips, visitors and clubs.
• Pastoral support helps pupils understand mental and physical wellbeing.
• Reading is prioritised and phonics teaching is effective.
• Year 1 phonics screening outcomes are consistently in line with national averages.
• The curriculum is broad and ambitious with clear vocabulary and handwriting/spelling focus.
• Pupils play well together at social times and include one another.
• Leaders work with families and professionals to support attendance and individual needs.
• Additional funding supports disadvantaged pupils, including phonics catch-up.
• Staff are proud of the school and most parents are positive.
• Governors fulfil their statutory duties.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils have gaps in basic writing and mathematics.
• Disadvantaged pupils and those with barriers do not achieve as well as peers.
• Pupils with SEND struggle to recall number facts and have gaps in other subjects.
• Progress through the curriculum is inconsistent.
• Attendance is too low for some pupils and not improving quickly enough.
• Persistent absence among disadvantaged pupils is above national levels.
• Behaviour expectations are inconsistently applied, causing low-level disruption.
• Suspension rates are high and several pupils receive repeat suspensions.
• Curriculum and teaching delivery is inconsistent across the school.
• Expectations of what pupils can achieve are sometimes too low.
• Teaching does not routinely adapt for SEND or pupils known to social care.
• Assessment checks lack precision and misconceptions are not corrected quickly.
• Learning activities do not consistently deepen pupils' understanding.
• Limited independent writing across the wider curriculum hinders progress.
• Early years provision is affected by staffing changes and variable staff interactions.
• Some children's needs are not met well in early years, causing lost learning time.
• Some staff do not consistently implement the behaviour policy.
• Leaders' improvement actions have not been precise enough.
• Professional development has not improved teaching consistency or reduced barriers.
• Governors' challenge and support lack rigour.
• Some pupils are not well prepared for transition to junior school.

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 Bowlish Infant School attended 93.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.5% 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, 8.0% of pupils at Bowlish Infant 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 Bowlish Infant School had 23.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2023–24, 62.3% 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, 9.6% of pupils at Bowlish Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.8% 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 Bowlish Infant School received £7,804 and spent £8,243 for each of its 114 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £43,000 (-£379 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 Shepton Mallet · Somerset local authority: places and applications

What is Bowlish Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bowlish Infant School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Bowlish Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bowlish Infant School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Bowlish Infant School have?

Bowlish Infant School has 114 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bowlish Infant School cover?

Bowlish Infant School for pupils aged 4 to 7.

Where is Bowlish Infant School?

Bowlish Infant School is at Bowlish, Wells Road, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 5JQ.