Bidford-on-Avon CofE Primary School

Bidford-on-Avon CofE Primary School continues to be a good school, with all inspected areas judged good. Pupils are cared for in a nurturing environment where adults listen to them, they feel safe and attend well, and they enjoy learning. Behaviour is good, older pupils act as positive role models, and pupils benefit from a wide range of clubs, trips and leadership opportunities. The curriculum is sequenced to build knowledge and skills year on year, reading is taught from Reception with strong support for vocabulary and phonics, pupils with SEND are identified early and most achieve well, and personal development is central to the school’s work. Safeguarding is effective, staff are proud to work at the school, and governors work in partnership with leaders. The inspection identified some areas for improvement. In a few subjects, essential curriculum knowledge is not clearly identified, which can leave gaps in pupils’ learning. Leaders’ oversight of curriculum implementation is not consistently rigorous enough to check how well teaching helps pupils secure new knowledge and to address gaps when they appear. In addition, extra support for pupils struggling with reading does not always include enough planned opportunities to practise reading aloud, which can slow the development of fluency. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and inspectors took the pandemic’s impact into account. The headteacher and chair of governors were both appointed in September 2024. The school is part of the Diocese of Warwickshire, and under the current framework it received graded judgements for each area rather than an overall effectiveness grade.

Strengths

• Nurturing environment where adults listen and pupils feel safe
• Pupils attend well and enjoy learning and wider opportunities
• Pupils behave well and older pupils act as positive role models
• Curriculum builds knowledge and skills year on year and links subjects
• Reading is taught from Reception with skilful vocabulary and phonics support
• Pupils with SEND are identified early and most achieve well
• Personal development is at the heart of the school
• Wide range of clubs, trips, leadership roles and enterprise activities
• Staff well-being is considered and governors work in partnership
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In a few subjects, essential curriculum knowledge is not clearly identified, leading to gaps in pupils’ learning
• Oversight of curriculum implementation is not robust enough to identify and address gaps in pupils’ knowledge
• Additional reading support does not always provide enough planned opportunities for pupils to practise reading aloud
• Some pupils’ learning is not accelerated as quickly as it could be because assessment information is not always used well enough to adjust the curriculum

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 Bidford-on-Avon CofE Primary School attended 95.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.1% 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, 0.6% of pupils at Bidford-on-Avon 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 Bidford-on-Avon CofE Primary School had 27.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.8% 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, 12.2% of pupils at Bidford-on-Avon CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.8% 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 Bidford-on-Avon CofE Primary School received £6,561 and spent £6,904 for each of its 312 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £162,000 (£520 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).

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What is Bidford-on-Avon CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bidford-on-Avon CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Bidford-on-Avon CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bidford-on-Avon CofE Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Bidford-on-Avon CofE Primary School have?

Bidford-on-Avon CofE Primary School has 312 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bidford-on-Avon CofE Primary School cover?

Bidford-on-Avon CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Bidford-on-Avon CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 65% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Bidford-on-Avon CofE Primary School?

Bidford-on-Avon CofE Primary School is at Bramley Way, Bidford-on-Avon, Alcester, Warwickshire, B50 4QG.