St James Church School

St James Church School is an inclusive and welcoming primary school where pupils are proud to attend, behave well and feel safe. Staff have high expectations, relationships are warm and caring, and pupils learn an improved curriculum in a calm environment. Personal development is a notable strength, with pupils respectful of others and active in their community, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school is emerging from significant staffing and curriculum changes, which the trust and leadership have managed sensitively. The curriculum is broad and ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and reading is central. Behaviour has improved, suspensions have reduced, attendance is improving, and pupils with SEND are identified quickly and well supported. There are still areas to improve. Some staff are developing their expertise in delivering the phonics programme, so some pupils do not learn to read as quickly as they could. In some subjects, the curriculum is still developing and pupils have gaps in knowledge from the previous curriculum. Published 2024 key stage 2 outcomes do not yet reflect the improvements now seen in school.

Strengths

• Inclusive and welcoming school community with warm staff-pupil relationships
• Pupils behave well, are keen to learn and feel safe
• High expectations for all pupils, including pupils with SEND
• Broad and ambitious curriculum with reading at its heart
• Strong early years reading and story-telling practice
• Effective support for pupils with SEND, with needs identified quickly
• Personal development is a strength, celebrating diversity and citizenship
• Calm school environment with effective safeguarding arrangements
• Improved behaviour management with fewer incidents and suspensions
• Attendance is improving through active work with families
• Strong enrichment and community engagement opportunities
• Trust and leadership have managed significant staffing and curriculum changes sensitively

Areas for Improvement

• Some staff are still developing expertise in delivering the phonics programme
• Some pupils do not learn to read as quickly as they could
• Some subjects' curricula are still developing and pupils have gaps in knowledge
• Published 2024 key stage 2 outcomes do not yet reflect curriculum improvements

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 James Church School attended 93.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.2% 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, 2.2% of pupils at St James Church 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 James Church School had 24.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.5% 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, 15.9% of pupils at St James Church School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.5% 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 St James Church School received £6,732 and spent £6,700 for each of its 489 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £372,000 (£760 per pupil).

Across all 45 schools of The Bath and Wells Diocesan Academies Trust, income was £7,160 and spending £7,193 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 Taunton · Somerset local authority: places and applications

St James Church School is part of The Bath and Wells Diocesan Academies Trust, which runs 46 schools. The nearest others:

• St Andrew's Church School Taunton
• Staplegrove Church School Taunton
• Cheddon Fitzpaine Church School Taunton
• Norton Fitzwarren Church School Taunton
• Bishops Lydeard Church School Taunton
• Lydeard St Lawrence Community Primary School Taunton
• Wembdon St George's Church School Bridgwater
• St Mary's & St Peter's Church School Ilminster
• St John and St Francis Church School Bridgwater
• Shepton Beauchamp Church School Ilminster

What is St James Church School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St James Church School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was St James Church School last inspected by Ofsted?

St James Church School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does St James Church School have?

St James Church School has 479 pupils on roll.

What age range does St James Church School cover?

St James Church School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St James Church School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 49% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St James Church School?

St James Church School is at Cranmer Road, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 1XU.