St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy

St Michael's is a well-loved community primary that inspectors judged good across all key judgements, including early years, while its previous inspection grade was outstanding. This was its first routine inspection since the pandemic, and it is part of St Christopher's C of E Multi Academy Trust with interim co-headteachers in place while a new headteacher is recruited. The school is ambitious for pupils, including those with SEND, and the curriculum builds knowledge and skills well from early years to Year 6, drawing on local history. Reading and early years provision are strong, pupils are safe and attendance is high, personal development is a notable strength, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. Leaders have acted to improve behaviour and the school is generally calm, but the new policy and high expectations are not consistently understood or applied by all staff, so a minority of pupils' poor behaviour recurs. Support for pupils with more significant SEND is sometimes not effective enough, limiting their independence and achievement. Governors and trustees provide effective challenge and support, and staff value training and feel proud to work at the school.

Strengths

• Ambitious curriculum that builds knowledge and skills progressively from early years to Year 6
• Strong early reading provision with prompt support for children who fall behind
• Effective early years provision that fosters a love of reading and writing
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and most access the same rich curriculum as peers
• Personal development is a strength, including diversity days, trips and courageous advocacy roles
• Pupils are safe and know where to get support
• High attendance, with swift support for families when attendance starts to decline
• Calm school environment with generally positive attitudes to learning
• Staff are proud to work at the school and value ongoing training
• Governors and trustees provide effective challenge and support, helping curriculum work keep momentum
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Wide range of clubs, residential trips and leadership roles build confidence and responsibility

Areas for Improvement

• New behaviour policy and high expectations are not fully understood or consistently applied by all staff
• Recurring incidents of poor behaviour by a minority of pupils are not always managed effectively
• Provision for pupils with more significant SEND is sometimes not effective enough
• Some pupils with significant SEND do not build independence successfully or achieve 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 Michael's Church of England Primary Academy attended 95.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.1% 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, 2.4% of pupils at St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy 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 Michael's Church of England Primary Academy had 27.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.6% 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, 14.5% of pupils at St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.3% 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 Michael's Church of England Primary Academy received £6,178 and spent £6,158 for each of its 419 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £116,000 (£278 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of St Christopher'S C of E (Primary) Multi Academy Trust, income was £6,883 and spending £7,074 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 Exeter · Devon local authority: places and applications

St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy is part of St Christopher'S C of E (Primary) Multi Academy Trust, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• Ladysmith Infant & Nursery School Exeter
• Ladysmith Junior School Exeter
• St Leonard's (CofE) Primary School Exeter
• St Sidwell's Church of England Primary School & Nursery Exeter
• Tidcombe Primary School Tiverton
• St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School Torquay
• All Saints Babbacombe CofE Primary School Torquay
• Upton St James CofE Primary School Torquay
• Beer Church of England Primary School Seaton
• All Saints Church of England Primary School Axminster

What is St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy have?

St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy has 455 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy cover?

St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 67% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy?

St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy is at South Lawn Terrace, Heavitree, Exeter, Devon, EX1 2SN.