St Paul's CofE Primary School

St Paul's CofE Primary School is a welcoming, inclusive school where pupils enjoy attending, behave well and feel happy and valued. The school has a broad and ambitious curriculum, supports pupils with SEND effectively, and provides exceptional personal development, including rich experiences such as its volunteer programme. Reading is a high priority, early years provision is strong, and pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Leadership and management are effective, staff feel supported, and safeguarding arrangements are secure. This was the school's first routine inspection since the pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2014, when it was judged outstanding; under the current framework it does not receive an overall effectiveness grade. The main areas for improvement are inconsistencies in how well the phonics programme is implemented, which means some pupils develop phonics knowledge at a slower rate, and some newer curriculum aspects where pupils are not consistently helped to connect prior and current learning.

Strengths

• Welcoming and nurturing environment where every pupil is welcome
• Pupils are polite, well-mannered and demonstrate positive attitudes to learning
• Pupils behave well and benefit from trusting relationships with adults
• Personal development support is exceptional and goes beyond expectations
• The innovative volunteer programme builds pupils' responsibility and independence
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious and well ordered so pupils build knowledge over time
• Pupils with SEND are identified carefully and supported well to access the same curriculum
• Reading is a high priority and pupils develop a love of reading from an early age
• Early years provision has a sharp focus on communication and language
• Pupils are very well prepared for life in modern Britain and understand fundamental British values
• Staff appreciate support for their well-being and workload
• Governors know the school's strengths and priorities and provide appropriate support and challenge
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• There are inconsistencies in how effectively the phonics programme is implemented
• Some pupils do not develop their phonics knowledge and understanding as quickly as possible
• Some curriculum aspects are relatively new and pupils are not always supported to make connections between current and previous learning
• Some pupils do not build their knowledge of some curriculum aspects as well as they could

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 St Paul's CofE Primary School attended 95.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.3% 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 St Paul's CofE 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 St Paul's CofE Primary School had 21.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 25.5% 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, 13.4% of pupils at St Paul's CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.8% 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 St Paul's CofE Primary School received £5,836 and spent £6,601 for each of its 414 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £79,000 (£191 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of Orchard Multi-Academy Trust, income was £6,313 and spending £6,774 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 Hereford · Herefordshire, County of local authority: places and applications

St Paul's CofE Primary School is part of Orchard Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• St James' Church of England Primary School Hereford
• Stretton Sugwas CofE Academy Hereford
• Burghill Community Academy Hereford
• Canon Pyon CofE Academy Hereford
• Staunton-on-Wye Endowed Primary School Hereford

What is St Paul's CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Paul's CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was St Paul's CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Paul's CofE Primary School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does St Paul's CofE Primary School have?

St Paul's CofE Primary School has 396 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Paul's CofE Primary School cover?

St Paul's CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Paul's CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Paul's CofE Primary School?

St Paul's CofE Primary School is at Hampton Dene Road, Tupsley, Hereford, Herefordshire, HR1 1UX.