Goddard Park Community Primary School

Goddard Park Community Primary School is a large, inclusive primary serving a disadvantaged community, with a much higher-than-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals. Inspectors found the school meeting expected standards across its inspected areas, with safeguarding standards met. Pupils describe a welcoming, caring and orderly school where they feel safe and valued, and behaviour is calm with respectful relationships. Notable strengths include strong early years provision, a clear priority on reading and phonics, a recently redesigned curriculum that is generally taught well, and effective inclusion support for pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and those known to social care. Leadership is well regarded, staff feel supported, and external improvement partners have strengthened capacity. Personal development is broad, with values, enrichment and diversity events contributing to pupils' confidence and sense of belonging. Concerns are limited but real. Attendance is broadly average overall, yet absence remains too high for a small number of pupils, and leaders do not consistently evaluate the impact of their attendance actions. Monitoring and analysis of the impact of some support and improvement work could be sharper, and pupils' knowledge of some enrichment and PSHE content, including fundamental British values beyond school, is not yet fully secure. Published outcomes also show combined reading, writing and mathematics attainment below national over three years, with a notable disadvantaged gap in reading and mathematics.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and describe a welcoming, caring and inclusive school.
• Behaviour is calm and orderly, with respectful relationships and rare bullying.
• Suspensions have fallen significantly and there have been no permanent exclusions.
• Early years provision is a clear strength, with nurturing environments and strong progress from starting points.
• Reading and phonics are high priorities, with consistent teaching and targeted support for weakest readers.
• The redesigned curriculum is well sequenced and generally taught well, with effective teacher checks.
• Inclusion is effective: pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and those known to social care are well supported.
• Disadvantaged pupils' writing attainment compares favourably with national averages.
• Leadership is positive and supportive, with staff wellbeing considered and external partners strengthening improvement.
• Personal development is broad, including values, enrichment, clubs, outdoor learning and diversity events.
• Attendance support includes personalised work and practical help such as breakfast in the 'nest'.
• Pupils have secure online safety knowledge and contribute through leadership roles such as school council.

Areas for Improvement

• Absence remains too high for a small number of pupils.
• Leaders do not consistently evaluate the effectiveness of attendance actions to refine support.
• Monitoring and analysis of the impact of some support and school improvement work could be sharper.
• Pupils' knowledge of some enrichment experiences and parts of the PSHE curriculum is not fully developed.
• Pupils' understanding of fundamental British values beyond the school setting is not yet secure.
• Combined reading, writing and mathematics attainment has been below the national average over the latest three-year period.
• The disadvantaged gap remains substantial in reading and mathematics.

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 Goddard Park Community Primary School attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.1% 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, 0.2% of pupils at Goddard Park 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 Goddard Park Community Primary School had 19.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.1% 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, 16.2% of pupils at Goddard Park Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.2% 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 2024–25 Goddard Park Community Primary School received £9,559 and spent £9,342 for each of its 515 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £519,000 (£1,008 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

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What is Goddard Park Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Goddard Park Community Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Goddard Park Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Goddard Park Community Primary School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Goddard Park Community Primary School have?

Goddard Park Community Primary School has 518 pupils on roll.

What age range does Goddard Park Community Primary School cover?

Goddard Park Community Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 59% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Goddard Park Community Primary School?

Goddard Park Community Primary School is at Welcombe Avenue, Park North, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN3 2QN.