St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School

St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School is performing well overall, with consistent grades of 'Good' across all areas evaluated. The school has undergone significant changes recently with new leadership that has bolstered educational improvements, although the low published outcomes in 2023 do not accurately reflect current learning. Pupils express pride in their school and benefit from a strong supportive environment that emphasizes positive behavior and learning.

Strengths

• Pupils exhibit vibrant confidence and pride in their school.
• There are strong and nurturing relationships between staff and students.
• The school has effectively communicated changes to parents, receiving high praise.
• Leaders have made ambitious improvements to the curriculum and quality of education.
• Staffing stability has led to better implementation of an ambitious curriculum design.
• Pupils express enthusiasm for reading and develop fluency and confidence in this area.
• The school promotes good mental health and social-emotional awareness among students.

Areas for Improvement

• Expectations for writing are not consistently high enough across the school.
• Inconsistencies in addressing writing errors hinder some pupils' progress.
• Adaptations for pupils with SEND are sometimes too generic and not tailored enough.
• Curricular strengths are not fully embedded across all areas of the school.

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 Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School attended 95.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.7% 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, 3.4% of pupils at St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery 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 Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School had 20.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.7% 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, 23.2% of pupils at St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.1% 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 Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School received £7,606 and spent £7,636 for each of its 267 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £75,000 (£283 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 Torquay · Torbay local authority: places and applications

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

• Upton St James CofE Primary School Torquay
• All Saints Babbacombe CofE Primary School Torquay
• St Leonard's (CofE) Primary School Exeter
• St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy Exeter
• Ladysmith Infant & Nursery School Exeter
• Ladysmith Junior School Exeter
• St Sidwell's Church of England Primary School & Nursery Exeter
• Meavy Church of England Primary School Yelverton
• Beer Church of England Primary School Seaton
• Lady Modiford's Church of England Primary School Yelverton

What is St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School is Good, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School have?

St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School has 241 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School cover?

St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 53% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School?

St Marychurch Church of England Primary and Nursery School is at Hartop Road, St Marychurch, Torquay, Devon, TQ1 4QH.