Cannington Church of England Primary School

Cannington Church of England Primary School is a primary school that was previously judged good but now requires improvement in the quality of education and in leadership and management, while behaviour and attitudes, personal development and early years provision remain good. Inspectors found a split picture: children in Reception get a strong start because routines, expectations and purposeful play are clear, and pupils generally behave well, feel safe and value the wider opportunities the school provides. In Years 1 to 6, however, the recently planned curriculum is not being implemented consistently enough, so pupils do not always build on prior learning or remember important knowledge.

Strengths

• Children in Reception get a strong start through clear routines, high expectations and purposeful play.
• Early years staff identify issues early and provide additional support when children need it.
• The early years environment develops phonics, mathematics, social skills and fine motor skills well.
• Pupils generally behave well, are keen to learn and build positive relationships with staff.
• The reading curriculum has been strengthened and most pupils have positive attitudes towards reading.
• Pupils who need to catch up in reading receive additional support.
• SEND identification and support are effective, with strong work with parents and pupils.
• Pupils have many opportunities to develop leadership, talents and interests through sports, trips, buddies, school council and head pupil roles.
• Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe, including online.
• Governors now have the knowledge and expertise needed to support the school moving forward.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation is variable, and not all staff have the expertise to deliver it as intended.
• Work given to pupils does not consistently build on prior learning or help them retain new knowledge.
• Pupils do not recall knowledge confidently in some subjects.
• Reading catch-up support is not always delivered effectively by well-trained staff.
• Many pupils have significant gaps in writing knowledge, and written work is often not high quality.
• Younger pupils have not secured basic writing skills before being asked to complete more advanced tasks.
• Too many older pupils without additional needs have gaps in knowledge that require extra support.
• A small number of pupils do not meet behaviour expectations, which affects how some pupils feel about peers and school.
• Oversight has been lacking in some areas of the school’s work.
• Safeguarding referral actions, decisions and outcomes are not always recorded, and record keeping is not fully compliant with statutory guidance.
• Governors do not currently have accurate oversight of safeguarding record keeping.

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 Cannington Church of England Primary School attended 94.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.3% 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 Cannington 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 Cannington Church of England Primary School had 20.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.6% 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, 12.3% of pupils at Cannington Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.1% 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 Cannington Church of England Primary School received £7,456 and spent £7,858 for each of its 171 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £24,000 (£141 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 Bridgwater · Somerset local authority: places and applications

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

The latest Ofsted rating for Cannington Church of England Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in November 2024.

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

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

How many pupils does Cannington Church of England Primary School have?

Cannington Church of England Primary School has 171 pupils on roll.

What age range does Cannington Church of England Primary School cover?

Cannington Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Cannington Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 71% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Cannington Church of England Primary School?

Cannington Church of England Primary School is at Brook Street, Cannington, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA5 2HP.