Wedmore First School Academy

Wedmore First School Academy is a happy and orderly school where pupils enjoy attending and typically show positive attitudes to learning. Since the previous inspection, leaders have raised ambition and staff are united behind a shared vision for improvement. Parents are supportive, particularly praising new leaders and the care provided by nurturing staff. Behaviour and personal development are strong: pupils understand the school values, show kindness, take on leadership roles and benefit from a range of clubs and outdoor learning. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. However, much of the school’s improvement work is still in its infancy, and pupils are not yet learning the curriculum well enough across all subjects. In some subjects the precise knowledge pupils need to learn has not been clearly identified or sequenced, and staff do not consistently have the expertise to plan work that deepens knowledge or helps pupils revisit prior learning. This is also true in the early years, including during independent learning. The school’s checks on how well pupils are learning are underdeveloped, so leaders are not clear where pupils have gaps in their understanding. The school has prioritised reading, but some pupils who have fallen behind, including some pupils with SEND, are not getting all the support they need. They do not consistently get enough practice with books matched to the sounds they know, and some writing tasks are too challenging. The school identifies pupils’ SEND needs well, but precise support is not consistently in place. Leaders and the trust have an accurate view of the school and know what needs to improve rapidly.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy attending and show positive attitudes to learning.
• Pupils understand and are guided by values such as kindness, respect and inclusivity.
• Older pupils show kindness to younger children, including at breakfast club.
• Staff are united in a shared vision and determined to improve the school.
• Parents are supportive and praise the impact of new leaders and nurturing staff.
• The school offers a range of clubs and outdoor learning opportunities, adjusting them so disadvantaged pupils can benefit.
• The headteacher has supported staff well through change, and staff value support for wellbeing and workload.
• Leaders, governance and the trust have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and priorities.
• Where subjects are further ahead, curriculum knowledge is identified and carefully sequenced, and training is helping staff teach it.
• The school is calm and orderly, with clear routines and warm relationships.
• Pupils say they have no concerns about bullying and know adults will help with worries.
• Personal development is well supported through self-care teaching, active citizenship and pupil leadership roles.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• The precise knowledge pupils need to learn has not been sufficiently identified and sequenced across all subjects.
• Some staff lack the expertise to implement the curriculum effectively, including in the early years.
• In some subjects, staff do not consistently plan work that deepens knowledge or helps pupils revisit prior learning.
• In early years independent learning, the precise knowledge children should know, remember and revisit is not routinely identified.
• The school’s checks on how well pupils are learning are underdeveloped, so gaps in pupils’ knowledge are not clear.
• Some pupils who have fallen behind in reading and writing, including pupils with SEND, do not get all the support they need.
• Some pupils do not get enough practice reading books that are well matched to the sounds they know.
• Some pupils are given writing tasks that are too challenging for them to achieve success.
• Pupils with SEND have their needs identified well, but do not consistently receive the precise support needed to learn the curriculum well.
• Much of the school’s improvement work is in its infancy, and pupils are not learning the curriculum well enough.

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 Wedmore First School Academy attended 95.1% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Wedmore First School Academy 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 Wedmore First School Academy had 28.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 24.3% 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, 5.7% of pupils at Wedmore First School Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.5% 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 Wedmore First School Academy received £6,594 and spent £6,263 for each of its 170 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £117,000 (£688 per pupil).

Across all 22 schools of Wessex Learning Trust, income was £7,524 and spending £7,371 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.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Somerset · Somerset local authority: places and applications

Wedmore First School Academy is part of Wessex Learning Trust, which runs 23 schools. The nearest others:

• Hugh Sexey Church of England Middle School Wedmore
• Weare Academy First School Axbridge
• Draycott & Rodney Stoke Church of England First School Draycott
• The Kings of Wessex Academy Cheddar
• Cheddar First School Cheddar
• Fairlands Middle School Cheddar
• Mark First and Pre-School CE Academy Highbridge
• Axbridge Church of England First School Academy Axbridge
• East Brent Church of England First School Highbridge
• Brent Knoll Church of England Primary School Highbridge

What is Wedmore First School Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Wedmore First School Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was Wedmore First School Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Wedmore First School Academy was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does Wedmore First School Academy have?

Wedmore First School Academy has 193 pupils on roll.

What age range does Wedmore First School Academy cover?

Wedmore First School Academy for pupils aged 2 to 9.

Where is Wedmore First School Academy?

Wedmore First School Academy is at Blackford Road, Wedmore, Somerset, BS28 4BS.