Frome Vale Academy

Frome Vale Academy is a vibrant and inclusive school that is performing well overall. Pupils achieve strongly, with disadvantaged pupils often exceeding national averages, and outcomes in phonics and multiplication are positive. Attendance is high, behaviour is consistently well managed, and pupils feel safe and supported. The curriculum is well designed and sequenced, teaching is skilful and research-informed, and leaders have a clear vision with strong support from The Cabot Learning Federation. The wider curriculum and personal development programme are particular strengths, offering pupils leadership roles, clubs, and enriching trips. Early years and inclusion are secure but have areas for development. In early years, staff interactions are not consistently focused on extending children's language and vocabulary, and leaders recognise this as a priority. For pupils with SEND, support is effective but monitoring could be more rigorous to ensure maximum impact. Leaders also need to embed systems so that barriers to learning are consistently addressed for all pupils across all curriculum areas. The school has a higher-than-average proportion of pupils with EHC plans and a strong pupil premium strategy, reflecting its inclusive ethos. Safeguarding standards are met.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve well and make strong progress, including those with SEND and other barriers
• Disadvantaged pupils often achieve higher than their peers nationally
• High-quality work in books shows pupils take pride in their learning
• Pupils' speaking and listening are consistently prioritised and highly developed
• Attendance is high, with a personalised whole-family approach removing barriers
• Behaviour is managed consistently through strong relationships and clear systems
• Classrooms and shared spaces are calm, purposeful and focused on learning
• The curriculum is well designed, carefully sequenced and builds secure knowledge
• Reading is taught through a structured phonics programme from the start
• Teaching is skilful and research-informed, with regular review by leaders
• The wider curriculum is a real strength, enriched by trips and subject-specific skills
• Leadership and governance are strong, with a clear vision and supportive staff culture
• Personal development is rich, including pupil leadership roles and a wide range of clubs
• The school is highly inclusive, and pupils with SEND make strong progress over time
• Pupils feel safe, bullying is not tolerated, and staff deal with concerns appropriately

Areas for Improvement

• Early years staff interactions are not consistently focused on developing children's language and vocabulary
• Monitoring of support for pupils with SEND could be more rigorous to ensure maximum impact
• Barriers to learning are not consistently addressed for all pupils and across all curriculum areas

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 Frome Vale Academy attended 95.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.6% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Frome Vale 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 Frome Vale Academy had 22.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 40.0% 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, 17.2% of pupils at Frome Vale Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.4% 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 Frome Vale Academy received £7,942 and spent £7,982 for each of its 202 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £118,000 (£584 per pupil).

Across all 33 schools of Cabot Learning Federation, income was £8,647 and spending £8,763 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 Bristol · Bristol, City of local authority: places and applications

Frome Vale Academy is part of Cabot Learning Federation, which runs 34 schools. The nearest others:

• Begbrook Primary Academy Bristol
• Bristol Metropolitan Academy Bristol
• Minerva Primary Academy Bristol
• Bristol Brunel Academy Bristol
• Wallscourt Farm Academy Bristol
• Summerhill Academy Bristol
• John Cabot Academy Bristol
• King's Oak Academy Bristol
• Digitech Studio School Bristol
• The City Academy Bristol Bristol

What is Frome Vale Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Frome Vale Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Frome Vale Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Frome Vale Academy was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Frome Vale Academy have?

Frome Vale Academy has 203 pupils on roll.

What age range does Frome Vale Academy cover?

Frome Vale Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Frome Vale Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 57% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Frome Vale Academy?

Frome Vale Academy is at Frenchay Road, Downend, Bristol, BS16 2QS.