Sampford Arundel Community Primary School

Sampford Arundel Community Primary School continues to perform effectively, maintaining the standards achieved during its previous inspection. The school is praised for its welcoming environment where pupils thrive in a close-knit community atmosphere. The curriculum is well-structured and designed to foster both academic achievement and personal development, equipping students with essential skills and knowledge. However, some concerns regarding the consistency of assessment methods in certain subjects exist, which may hinder some pupils' learning progress.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, safe, and describe the school as 'like a family'.
• The curriculum is well designed from Reception Year to Year 6.
• Children in pre-school get off to a strong start with a focus on communication.
• The school offers a well-rounded range of enrichment activities.
• Pupils develop confidence and resilience through various opportunities.
• There is effective support for pupils who fall behind in reading.
• The provision for pupils’ personal development prepares them well for life in modern Britain.
• Most pupils attend school regularly, and effective systems are in place to address low attendance.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, assessment checks do not consistently identify gaps in pupils' knowledge.

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 Sampford Arundel Community Primary School attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 2.6% 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 Sampford Arundel Community Primary 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 Sampford Arundel Community Primary School had 15.4 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, 30.2% of pupils at Sampford Arundel Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.0% 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 Sampford Arundel Community Primary School received £12,679 and spent £12,448 for each of its 43 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £128,000 (£2,974 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 Wellington · Somerset local authority: places and applications

What is Sampford Arundel Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sampford Arundel Community Primary School is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Sampford Arundel Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Sampford Arundel Community Primary School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Sampford Arundel Community Primary School have?

Sampford Arundel Community Primary School has 43 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sampford Arundel Community Primary School cover?

Sampford Arundel Community Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Sampford Arundel Community Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 57% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Sampford Arundel Community Primary School?

Sampford Arundel Community Primary School is at Sampford Arundel, Wellington, Somerset, TA21 9QN.