Cotford St Luke Primary School

Cotford St Luke Primary is a friendly, caring school where pupils feel happy and parents praise the nurture staff provide. Inspectors found that the school has raised expectations and made real progress since its previous inspection, particularly in improving attendance and tackling weaknesses in the curriculum. Published outcomes are now broadly in line with national averages in many areas, and pupils benefit from a broad curriculum, strong personal development and a wide extra-curricular offer. Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and reading is a clear priority from Nursery, with well-trained staff helping children catch up. However, important weaknesses remain. Teaching does not consistently check what pupils know and remember, so long-standing gaps in knowledge persist for many pupils. Behaviour is not consistently well managed, especially at less structured times, and staff expectations and follow-up are uneven. In Reception, poor outdoor provision limits children’s gross motor development. Record-keeping for behaviour and safeguarding is not robust enough, and governors lack the knowledge and oversight to challenge leaders effectively, including on safeguarding. Safeguarding arrangements are nonetheless effective because the safeguarding team acts promptly. Leaders and staff are committed, and staff welcome the changes made to improve the school. But many improvements are in the early stages and have not yet had the required impact. The school needs to embed assessment, behaviour and record-keeping systems and strengthen governance so that recent work translates into consistent provision and better outcomes for all pupils.

Strengths

• Friendly, caring school where pupils feel happy and parents praise staff nurture
• Broad and ambitious curriculum with carefully considered knowledge in most subjects
• Reading prioritised from Nursery, with effective phonics and early language support
• Pupils with SEND identified quickly and supported alongside their peers
• Personal development is a strength, including online safety, protected characteristics and careers aspiration
• Wide extra-curricular offer including clubs, trips and residential experiences
• Older pupils take on roles of responsibility such as peer mediators and school council members
• Staff are proud to work at the school and welcome leaders' consideration of workload
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with prompt action by the safeguarding team and an established safeguarding culture
• Pupils listen well to staff and work positively with peers in lessons
• Children in the early years show good concentration and learn to share
• Attendance has improved and weaknesses in the curriculum have been tackled

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching does not check pupils' understanding precisely enough, leaving long-standing gaps in knowledge
• Assessment information is not consistently used to plan pupils' next steps
• Behaviour expectations are inconsistent and challenging behaviour occurs too often in unstructured times and early years
• The behaviour policy is not fully embedded or understood by all stakeholders
• Consequences for behaviour incidents are inconsistently applied and not recorded in sufficient detail
• Record-keeping for behaviour and safeguarding is not robust, accessible or clear
• Governors lack the knowledge, expertise and robust challenge needed for effective oversight, including of safeguarding and behaviour
• Reception outdoor provision is poor and limits children's gross motor skill development
• Leaders cannot always access safeguarding information quickly and staff record concerns inconsistently
• Many improvements are in early stages and have not yet had the required impact
• Some pupils are not developing the necessary knowledge and skills for their next steps
• The quality of teaching varies in how well it supports pupils' learning

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 Cotford St Luke Primary School attended 93.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.5% 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, 3.0% of pupils at Cotford St Luke 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 Cotford St Luke Primary School had 20.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.8% 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, 4.0% of pupils at Cotford St Luke Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.0% 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 Cotford St Luke Primary School received £8,864 and spent £8,663 for each of its 201 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £316,000 (£1,571 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 Cotford St Luke Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Cotford St Luke Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Cotford St Luke Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Cotford St Luke Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Cotford St Luke Primary School have?

Cotford St Luke Primary School has 201 pupils on roll.

What age range does Cotford St Luke Primary School cover?

Cotford St Luke Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Cotford St Luke Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 44% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Cotford St Luke Primary School?

Cotford St Luke Primary School is at Bethell Mead, Cotford St Luke, Taunton, Somerset, TA4 1HZ.