St Philip's CofE Primary School

St Philip’s CofE Primary is a happy, welcoming school where pupils feel safe and are well supported. Inspectors found strong provision across the school, including an effective phonics programme, well-sequenced learning in subjects such as mathematics and art, good support for pupils with SEND, and a broad personal development offer that includes PSHE, enrichment activities and opportunities for pupil voice. Behaviour is calm and orderly, safeguarding is effective, and parents, staff and governors speak positively about the school and its leadership. The main area for improvement is curriculum clarity in some subjects. The school has not always identified the essential knowledge pupils should acquire in each year group, so teachers do not consistently check whether pupils have secured that knowledge and some pupils struggle to recall earlier learning. The trust is expected to make sure this essential knowledge is clearly identified and routinely checked. This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the headteacher has been in post since September 2024. The school is part of the Palladian Academy Trust and was judged good at its previous inspection.

Strengths

• Warm, caring and welcoming environment with positive relationships
• Pupils feel safe and confident that adults will help with learning or concerns
• Ambitious curriculum with strong early reading and phonics provision
• Well-sequenced learning in subjects such as mathematics and art
• Pupils with SEND are well supported to learn alongside their peers
• Pupils are polite, considerate and behave calmly around school
• Good personal development through PSHE, enrichment and pupil voice
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Trustees and governors understand the school and provide support
• Staff workload has been reduced and parents value the school

Areas for Improvement

• Essential knowledge is not clearly identified in some curriculum subjects
• Teachers do not consistently check that pupils have secured key knowledge
• Some pupils cannot recall prior learning and do not build knowledge well
• Trust must ensure essential knowledge is clearly identified and routinely checked

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 Philip's CofE Primary School attended 94.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.7% 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, 2.2% of pupils at St Philip's CofE 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 St Philip's CofE Primary School had 23.9 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, 17.7% of pupils at St Philip's CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.3% 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 Philip's CofE Primary School received £6,385 and spent £5,801 for each of its 277 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £80,000 (-£290 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of Palladian Academy Trust, income was £6,949 and spending £6,535 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 Bath · Bath and North East Somerset local authority: places and applications

St Philip's CofE Primary School is part of Palladian Academy Trust, which runs 13 schools. The nearest others:

• St Martin's Garden Primary School Bath
• Oldfield Park Junior School Bath
• Oldfield Park Infant School Bath
• Combe Down CofE Primary School Bath
• Widcombe Infant School Bath
• Widcombe CofE Junior School Bath
• Ralph Allen School Bath
• Winsley CoE VC Primary School Bradford-On-Avon
• Westwood-with-Iford Primary School Bradford-On-Avon
• Fitzmaurice Primary School Bradford-On-Avon

What is St Philip's CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Philip's CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was St Philip's CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Philip's CofE Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does St Philip's CofE Primary School have?

St Philip's CofE Primary School has 277 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Philip's CofE Primary School cover?

St Philip's CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Philip's CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 78% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Philip's CofE Primary School?

St Philip's CofE Primary School is at Bloomfield Rise, Odd Down, Bath, Somerset, BA2 2BN.