Curry Mallet Church of England Primary School

Curry Mallet Church of England Primary School is a small, caring primary school where pupils feel safe and happy, behave well and achieve well by the end of key stage 2. This was its first routine inspection since the pandemic and its first since previously being exempt as an outstanding school; under the current framework it received good judgements across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years, with no overall effectiveness grade. The school is emerging from a period of transition, including recent changes in key leadership roles and a reduction in pre-school opening hours, but staff have kept pupils' education on track and morale is high. The report highlights a detailed and ambitious curriculum from Reception upwards, strong phonics and reading provision, effective support for pupils with SEND, and a well-considered personal development programme underpinned by the school's Christian ethos. Governance is effective, safeguarding is effective, and pupils benefit from trips, clubs and improved communication with families. The main areas for improvement concern the pre-school curriculum, which has not kept pace with changes to provision and does not make clear enough how children build on prior learning, and assessment in a few subjects, where systems for checking long-term recall are not fully established, allowing gaps in knowledge to go unaddressed.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and happy, and adults care for them well.
• Children settle quickly into routines from the early years, including two-year-olds in pre-school.
• Pupils behave well in lessons and disruption to learning is rare.
• The school has high expectations for all pupils, including those with SEND.
• Pupils achieve well in national tests by the end of key stage 2 and are well prepared for the next stage.
• The personal development programme is well considered and underpinned by the school's Christian ethos.
• Pupils develop into caring and compassionate citizens and learn about discrimination and online safety.
• Trips, clubs and enrichment opportunities enhance pupils' curriculum and interests.
• Communication with parents and carers has recently improved.
• The curriculum from Reception upwards is detailed and ambitious and considers mixed-age classes.
• Teachers explain new concepts clearly and encourage pupils to use key vocabulary.
• Pupils with complex needs are well supported, including those with education, health and care plans.
• Reading is prioritised from the start, with well-trained phonics staff and strong support for pupils who fall behind.
• Older pupils mix well with younger peers, and well-being buddies provide emotional support.
• The governing body provides effective support and challenge and has managed a smooth transition during substantial change.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• The pre-school curriculum has not kept pace with changes to provision and does not detail well enough what children should know and do.
• Staff are not clear enough about how learning in the pre-school connects with children's prior knowledge, so children do not build on prior learning well enough.
• Systems for checking how successfully pupils remember key knowledge in some subjects are not fully established.
• Because assessment systems are underdeveloped in a few subjects, staff cannot identify and address gaps in pupils' knowledge.
• Some pupils' recall of prior learning is not secure in a few subjects.

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 Curry Mallet Church of England Primary School attended 93.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.0% 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 Curry Mallet Church of England 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 Curry Mallet Church of England Primary School had 15.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 50.0% 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, 12.5% of pupils at Curry Mallet Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.7% 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 Curry Mallet Church of England Primary School received £10,124 and spent £10,319 for each of its 64 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £142,000 (£2,221 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 Taunton · Somerset local authority: places and applications

What is Curry Mallet Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Curry Mallet Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Curry Mallet Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Curry Mallet Church of England Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Curry Mallet Church of England Primary School have?

Curry Mallet Church of England Primary School has 64 pupils on roll.

What age range does Curry Mallet Church of England Primary School cover?

Curry Mallet Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

Where is Curry Mallet Church of England Primary School?

Curry Mallet Church of England Primary School is at Lower Street, Curry Mallet, Taunton, Somerset, TA3 6TA.