St Michael's Church of England Primary School

St Michael’s Church of England Primary School is a diverse and welcoming school where pupils are proud of the 57 languages spoken and new arrivals, including those new to English, are supported through the ‘lingua lab’ and ‘young interpreters’. This was its first section 5 inspection, held in October 2024; it is a single-academy trust school led by the headteacher since 2020. Inspectors found all key areas—quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years—to be good, with safeguarding effective. Pupils benefit from high care and nurture, an ambitious and broad curriculum, and a strong focus on reading and phonics. Behaviour expectations are high and learning is typically free from disruption. The school provides effective SEND support and rich personal development, including clubs, leadership roles and community activities. Governors and trust leaders work closely with the school, and staff well-being is considered. Two areas need improvement. Occasionally teachers move pupils on to more complex writing tasks before checking they have secured basic letter formation and sentence structure, which slows progress in fluent writing. Also, not all staff use high-quality interactions to develop pupils’ spoken language, so oracy support is not yet consistent across the school.

Strengths

• Embraces diversity and welcomes pupils from many language backgrounds
• Provides tailored support for pupils new to English through the ‘lingua lab’ and peer ‘young interpreters’
• Offers high levels of care and nurture that help pupils flourish academically and personally
• Has an ambitious, broad curriculum with clear key learning points
• Places reading at the centre of the curriculum and develops confident readers
• Delivers strong phonics teaching from the start of Reception
• Uses effective early years strategies, including videos and actions, to build independence
• Identifies and supports pupils with SEND quickly and effectively
• Maintains high behaviour expectations through ‘The St. Michael’s Way’
• Promotes personal development through clubs, leadership roles and community activities
• Fosters a strong sense of community and caring young citizens
• Benefits from close governor and trust oversight and attention to staff well-being

Areas for Improvement

• Occasionally teachers do not check that pupils have secured basic letter formation and sentence structure before moving to more complex writing tasks
• Not all staff use high-quality interactions to develop and extend pupils’ spoken language consistently

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 School attended 95.0% 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, 1.8% of pupils at St Michael's Church of England Primary 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 Michael's Church of England Primary School had 19.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 1.7% 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, 16.5% of pupils at St Michael's Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.2% 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 School received £6,653 and spent £6,613 for each of its 620 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £104,000 (£168 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.

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

The latest Ofsted rating for St Michael's Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

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

St Michael's Church of England Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

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

St Michael's Church of England Primary School has 599 pupils on roll.

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

St Michael's Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Michael's Church of England Primary School'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 School?

St Michael's Church of England Primary School is at Somerville Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH2 5LH.