By Brook Valley CofE Primary School

By Brook Valley CofE Primary School is a happy, friendly school where pupils are kind to each other, older pupils support younger ones, and strong staff relationships help pupils feel safe. Pupils understand and generally follow the school rules, behave well from Reception onwards, and benefit from a curriculum with high expectations and a strong emphasis on reading. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2014; it is a single-academy trust and, under the current framework, receives no overall effectiveness grade. All key judgements were good. The school’s reading and phonics work is a notable strength, with pupils reading widely and receiving effective support to build fluency and confidence. The curriculum has been reviewed and is clear and logically ordered, teachers usually explain information well, and pupils often remember key knowledge. Pupils’ personal development is supported through learning about faiths, cultures, environmental issues and charitable work, and they contribute to the local community. Governance is accurate and effective, trust leaders are mindful of staff workload, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main concerns are that targets for some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are not precise enough to show how individual barriers will be addressed, meaning some pupils do not achieve as well as they could against their individual needs. In addition, assessment checks sometimes do not give teachers enough information about what pupils know and can do, so some pupils do not secure their knowledge or get enough opportunities to extend their learning. The trust should ensure staff set precise SEND targets and use assessment strategies effectively to adjust the curriculum for all pupils.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, friendly and kind to one another, with older pupils supporting younger pupils.
• Staff build strong relationships with pupils and help them feel safe and supported.
• Pupils behave well, understand the school rules and move around the school in a calm, orderly manner.
• Reading is a priority, and the phonics curriculum is delivered well from Reception onwards.
• The curriculum is clear, logically ordered and builds pupils’ knowledge from the local area to the wider world.
• Teachers usually present information clearly and help pupils recall key knowledge.
• Pupils develop well through learning about world faiths, cultures, environmental issues and charitable work.
• Pupils take pride in leadership roles and contribute positively to their local community.
• Governors understand the school well, and trust leaders are mindful of staff workload.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Targets for some pupils with SEND are not precise enough and do not clearly detail how individual needs will be supported.
• Assessment strategies sometimes do not give teachers enough information about pupils’ progress, so some pupils do not secure knowledge or extend their learning.

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 By Brook Valley CofE Primary School attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.0% 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, 1.0% of pupils at By Brook Valley 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 By Brook Valley CofE Primary School had 17.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.4% 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, 12.8% of pupils at By Brook Valley CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.2% 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 By Brook Valley CofE Primary School received £6,087 and spent £6,103 for each of its 195 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £110,000 (£564 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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All schools in Chippenham · Wiltshire local authority: places and applications

What is By Brook Valley CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for By Brook Valley CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was By Brook Valley CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

By Brook Valley CofE Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does By Brook Valley CofE Primary School have?

By Brook Valley CofE Primary School has 179 pupils on roll.

What age range does By Brook Valley CofE Primary School cover?

By Brook Valley CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are By Brook Valley CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

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

Where is By Brook Valley CofE Primary School?

By Brook Valley CofE Primary School is at The Street, Yatton Keynell, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14 7BA.