St John and St Francis Church School

St John and St Francis Church School demonstrates a good overall performance, improving significantly since its last inspection. The school fosters a respectful community where students support each other, with strong emphasis on communication skills. The well-designed curriculum builds knowledge sequentially across subjects, benefiting both early readers and those needing additional support. Notably, leadership has maintained focus on educational quality, resulting in effective teaching and positive pupil behavior, though some areas for further development remain.

Strengths

• Strong emphasis on communication and language skills.
• Well-organized phonics program enhancing early reading.
• Imaginative curriculum that engages pupils with diverse activities.
• Effective leadership that prioritizes staff well-being and workload.
• Positive pupil attitudes and low instances of bullying.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils have gaps in knowledge due to inconsistent assessment checks.
• Not all pupils fully understand concepts taught in personal, social and health education.

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 John and St Francis Church School attended 95.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.9% 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 John and St Francis Church School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 John and St Francis Church School had 25.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.9% 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, 18.1% of pupils at St John and St Francis Church School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.8% 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 John and St Francis Church School received £6,531 and spent £6,366 for each of its 413 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £328,000 (£795 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 Bridgwater · Somerset local authority: places and applications

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

• Wembdon St George's Church School Bridgwater
• Churchfield Church School Highbridge
• Cheddon Fitzpaine Church School Taunton
• St Andrew's Church School Taunton
• St James Church School Taunton
• Staplegrove Church School Taunton
• Norton Fitzwarren Church School Taunton
• Bishops Lydeard Church School Taunton
• Lydeard St Lawrence Community Primary School Taunton
• St Mary's & St Peter's Church School Ilminster

What is St John and St Francis Church School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St John and St Francis Church School is Good, from an inspection in July 2022.

When was St John and St Francis Church School last inspected by Ofsted?

St John and St Francis Church School was last inspected in July 2022.

How many pupils does St John and St Francis Church School have?

St John and St Francis Church School has 421 pupils on roll.

What age range does St John and St Francis Church School cover?

St John and St Francis Church School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St John and St Francis Church School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 56% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St John and St Francis Church School?

St John and St Francis Church School is at Westonzoyland Road, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA6 5BP.