Birchfield Community Primary School

Birchfield Community Primary School is performing well overall, achieving a good rating in all areas of inspection. The school provides a nurturing and inclusive environment where pupils feel safe and build positive relationships with staff and peers. Parents appreciate the caring atmosphere and strong sense of community. The curriculum is well-structured and adequately prepares pupils for their next stages of learning, although work in a few foundation subjects is still being embedded. There are also opportunities for enrichment beyond the classroom, which helps in the development of pupils' personal skills and talents.

Strengths

• Pupils have positive relationships with staff and each other.
• High expectations of behavior are maintained throughout the school.
• The curriculum prepares pupils well for their next stage of learning.
• Strong emphasis on reading, with a well-stocked library that encourages reading for pleasure.
• The early years provision is effective, with children showing positive attitudes to learning.
• Extracurricular clubs support the development of various talents.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils, including those with SEND, do not learn well in a few foundation subjects.
• Support for early-stage readers does not meet all pupils' needs effectively.

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 Birchfield Community Primary School attended 94.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.1% 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, 1.2% of pupils at Birchfield Community Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Birchfield Community Primary School had 19.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.0% 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, 11.5% of pupils at Birchfield Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.2% 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 Birchfield Community Primary School received £8,289 and spent £7,866 for each of its 409 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,048,000 (£2,561 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 Yeovil · Somerset local authority: places and applications

What is Birchfield Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Birchfield Community Primary School is Good, from an inspection in September 2024.

When was Birchfield Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Birchfield Community Primary School was last inspected in September 2024.

How many pupils does Birchfield Community Primary School have?

Birchfield Community Primary School has 409 pupils on roll.

What age range does Birchfield Community Primary School cover?

Birchfield Community Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 59% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Birchfield Community Primary School?

Birchfield Community Primary School is at Birchfield Road, Yeovil, Somerset, BA21 5RL.