St Lawrence's CofE Primary School

St Lawrence’s Church of England Primary School is performing well overall, rated as good across all areas, including the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership. Pupils enjoy their time at school, thrive in a supportive environment, and exhibit positive attitudes towards learning. The school places a strong emphasis on building relationships and fostering a sense of community, which is reflected in the pride pupils feel in their school. The curriculum is generally well-structured, with a notable focus on early reading and the reinforcement of learning over time. However, there are some areas for improvement. Specifically, in certain subjects, school leaders need to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the essential knowledge pupils should acquire. Teacher subject knowledge also requires enhancement to ensure that students consistently receive tailored support reflective of the ambitious curriculum goals. Overall, while the school has made commendable progress, addressing these areas will further strengthen its educational provision.

Strengths

• Pupils feel happy and safe at school.
• Positive and respectful relationships between adults and pupils.
• High expectations set by staff from Nursery onwards.
• Curriculum designed to build knowledge over time.
• Strong emphasis on reading and literacy development.
• Well-supported pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• Opportunities for personal development and community involvement.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent oversight of essential subject knowledge by leaders.
• Staff subject knowledge is not always secure, leading to insufficient support for pupils.

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 St Lawrence's CofE Primary School attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.0% 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 St Lawrence's CofE 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 St Lawrence's CofE Primary School had 19.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.7% 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, 10.9% of pupils at St Lawrence's CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.0% 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 St Lawrence's CofE Primary School received £10,580 and spent £9,726 for each of its 99 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £448,000 (£4,523 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). This school files a single return with the other schools in its federation, so the figures are for the whole federation.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Wells · Somerset local authority: places and applications

What is St Lawrence's CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Lawrence's CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in May 2023.

When was St Lawrence's CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Lawrence's CofE Primary School was last inspected in May 2023.

How many pupils does St Lawrence's CofE Primary School have?

St Lawrence's CofE Primary School has 55 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Lawrence's CofE Primary School cover?

St Lawrence's CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

Where is St Lawrence's CofE Primary School?

St Lawrence's CofE Primary School is at School Hill, Westbury-sub-Mendip, Wells, Somerset, BA5 1HL.