Castle Primary School

Castle Primary School is performing well overall, demonstrating a strong commitment to providing a caring and supportive environment for its pupils. The school's leadership team has revitalized the curriculum, particularly in mathematics, which has led to noticeable improvements in pupil learning outcomes. The nurturing approach fosters positive attitudes among students; they feel safe, happy, and actively engaged in their learning. Noteworthy aspects include the school's strong ties to the local community and its focus on teaching British values, which prepares pupils as responsible citizens.

Strengths

• Strong leadership with a clear vision for improvement
• Significant enhancements in the mathematics curriculum
• Caring environment where pupils feel safe and valued
• Effective early years provision that fosters a love for reading
• Inclusive school culture supporting pupils with SEND
• High-quality work produced by pupils reflecting pride and effort

Areas for Improvement

• Some staff lack precise subject knowledge in certain 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 Castle Primary School attended 95.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.1% 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, 0.7% of pupils at Castle Primary 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 Castle Primary School had 16.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 11.8% of pupils at Castle Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.9% 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 Castle Primary School received £8,258 and spent £8,675 for each of its 130 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £76,000 (£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 Somerset · Somerset local authority: places and applications

Castle Primary School is part of Cabot Learning Federation, which runs 34 schools. The nearest others:

• The Redstart Primary School Chard
• Monkton Wood Academy Taunton
• Minerva Primary School Taunton
• The Sky Academy Taunton
• Priorswood Primary School Taunton
• Kingsmead Academy Taunton
• Uphill Village Academy Weston-Super-Mare
• Broadoak Academy Weston-Super-Mare
• Airfield Primary Academy Weston-Super-Mare
• Haywood Village Academy North Somerset

What is Castle Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Castle Primary School is Good, from an inspection in September 2023.

When was Castle Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Castle Primary School was last inspected in September 2023.

How many pupils does Castle Primary School have?

Castle Primary School has 136 pupils on roll.

What age range does Castle Primary School cover?

Castle Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Castle Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 50% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Castle Primary School?

Castle Primary School is at Castle Street, Stoke-Sub-Hamdon, Somerset, TA14 6RE.