Sarum St Paul's CofE (VA) Primary School

Sarum St Paul’s CofE (VA) Primary School is performing well. Inspectors found the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and early years provision to be good, while personal development is outstanding. Pupils are proud of their school, are respectful and inclusive, and feel safe and nurtured. The school has a broad and ambitious curriculum, strong reading provision, meticulous identification of SEND, and a specialist resource base for pupils with hearing impairment where pupils learn fully alongside their peers. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school’s personal development work is a notable strength. Pupils take on leadership roles responsibly, contribute to the wider community, and show maturity in discussing equality, respect and British values. Staff are well supported, leaders act on external feedback, and governors provide appropriate support and challenge. Parents and carers speak positively about the school’s vision and values. There are a small number of areas to improve. In a minority of wider curriculum subjects, assessment is not closely matched to the intended curriculum, so checks on what pupils remember are not precise enough. In addition, a few pupils sometimes spend time on learning they already know well and do not move to more complex work promptly when ready. The report notes that this was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and that, under current arrangements, no overall effectiveness grade was awarded.

Strengths

• Broad and ambitious curriculum with carefully sequenced knowledge across pupils’ journey.
• Outstanding personal development woven throughout school life.
• Pupils are proud, respectful, inclusive and feel safe and nurtured.
• Meticulous SEND identification and skilful adaptation of learning.
• Specialist hearing impairment resource base ensures pupils fully engage and learn with peers.
• Effective reading programme with careful phonics checks and targeted support.
• Pupils develop a strong appreciation of British values and equalities.
• Rich wider opportunities in arts, sports, specialist curriculum weeks and community projects.
• Pupil leadership roles are carried out with responsibility, confidence and enthusiasm.
• Leadership uses external review well, acts quickly on feedback and supports staff development.
• Governors provide clear support and challenge, and parents praise the school’s vision and values.
• Effective safeguarding arrangements.

Areas for Improvement

• In a minority of wider curriculum subjects, assessment is not closely matched to the intended curriculum, so checks on what pupils remember are not accurate enough.
• Some pupils spend time learning what they already know well and do not move to more complex learning when ready.
• Learning activities for a few pupils do not consistently build on what they already know and can do, limiting timely progression.

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 Sarum St Paul's CofE (VA) Primary School attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.4% 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, 0.9% of pupils at Sarum St Paul's CofE (VA) 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 Sarum St Paul's CofE (VA) Primary School had 20.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.1% 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, 10.3% of pupils at Sarum St Paul's CofE (VA) Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.7% 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 Sarum St Paul's CofE (VA) Primary School received £6,688 and spent £6,800 for each of its 214 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £140,000 (-£653 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 Salisbury · Wiltshire local authority: places and applications

What is Sarum St Paul's CofE (VA) Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sarum St Paul's CofE (VA) Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Sarum St Paul's CofE (VA) Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Sarum St Paul's CofE (VA) Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Sarum St Paul's CofE (VA) Primary School have?

Sarum St Paul's CofE (VA) Primary School has 214 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sarum St Paul's CofE (VA) Primary School cover?

Sarum St Paul's CofE (VA) Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Sarum St Paul's CofE (VA) Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 64% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Sarum St Paul's CofE (VA) Primary School?

Sarum St Paul's CofE (VA) Primary School is at Westminster Road, Westminster Road, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP2 7DG.