Gotherington Primary School

Gotherington Primary School has performed well in its first inspection under section 5 of the Education Act, achieving a 'Good' rating across all areas. The school has established a positive culture where pupils are encouraged to take responsibility and enjoy learning, with a strong emphasis on reading and an ambitious curriculum that develops pupils' cultural capital. However, there are concerns regarding the social interactions among pupils, with issues like friendship problems and name-calling being reported. The school recognizes the need to improve its behavior management strategies and better support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to foster greater independence in their learning.

Strengths

• The school has a strong emphasis on reading with a well-structured phonics program.
• Pupils take on leadership roles and contribute positively to school life.
• The curriculum is ambitious and helps develop pupils' cultural capital.
• Pupils generally behave well in lessons and are attentive.
• There is effective support in place for mental health and well-being.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils struggle with interactions and exhibit poor behavior towards one another.
• Teaching does not sufficiently adapt to support pupils with SEND, leading to over-reliance on adult support.

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 Gotherington Primary School attended 96.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.1% 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, 2.0% of pupils at Gotherington 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 Gotherington Primary School had 19.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 24.8% 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, 22.8% of pupils at Gotherington Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.5% 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 Gotherington Primary School received £5,896 and spent £6,035 for each of its 202 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £108,000 (£535 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 Gotherington Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Gotherington Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2024.

When was Gotherington Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Gotherington Primary School was last inspected in January 2024.

How many pupils does Gotherington Primary School have?

Gotherington Primary School has 197 pupils on roll.

What age range does Gotherington Primary School cover?

Gotherington Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Gotherington Primary School?

Gotherington Primary School is at The Lawns, Gotherington, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL52 9QT.