Riverside Community Primary School

Riverside Community Primary School is performing well, continuing to uphold its 'good' status. The school provides a warm and inclusive environment where pupils feel secure and valued, leading to positive behavior and a supportive community spirit. With a strong emphasis on personal development and community involvement, pupils are encouraged to take on responsibilities and give back to society. Recent curriculum enhancements have aimed to be more ambitious, especially in the early years, where children get off to a strong start and make significant progress. However, there are some concerns regarding the effectiveness of the curriculum changes in certain subjects, as well as issues with attendance among some pupils which may affect their overall achievement.

Strengths

• Inclusive and welcoming school environment
• Strong emphasis on personal development and community involvement
• High aspirations set by leaders for all pupils
• Positive behavior with minimal disruption to learning
• Effective teaching of reading with a focus on phonics
• Strong beginnings in the early years with robust curriculum planning

Areas for Improvement

• Some curriculum changes do not benefit pupils' learning as intended
• Some pupils have low attendance, resulting in gaps in knowledge
• Governors lack a sharp understanding of the impact of additional funding for disadvantaged 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 Riverside Community Primary School attended 94.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.4% 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, 0.2% of pupils at Riverside Community 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 Riverside Community Primary School had 15.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.3% 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, 20.3% of pupils at Riverside Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.7% 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 Riverside Community Primary School received £9,440 and spent £9,331 for each of its 370 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £167,000 (£452 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 Plymouth · Plymouth local authority: places and applications

What is Riverside Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Riverside Community Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2023.

When was Riverside Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Riverside Community Primary School was last inspected in June 2023.

How many pupils does Riverside Community Primary School have?

Riverside Community Primary School has 370 pupils on roll.

What age range does Riverside Community Primary School cover?

Riverside Community Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Riverside Community Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 76% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Riverside Community Primary School?

Riverside Community Primary School is at 210 Poole Park Road, St Budeaux, Plymouth, Devon, PL5 1DD.