Southam Primary School

Southam Primary School is a welcoming and ambitious school where pupils achieve well and are well prepared for the next stage of their education. Inspectors found strong provision across achievement, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Pupils benefit from a carefully sequenced curriculum, effective phonics and reading teaching, high expectations for all pupils, and strong support for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils feel safe, valued and included. The school is part of the Stowe Valley Multi Academy Trust, and trust leaders and local governors are described as providing effective support and challenge. Behaviour is highly positive, pupils enjoy a rich range of experiences, and inclusion is central to the school’s work. The main area for improvement is attendance: although overall attendance is broadly in line with national averages, attendance for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils remains below national averages, and persistent absence for these groups remains too high. Leaders have taken action, but improvements for disadvantaged pupils have not been sustained over time. Overall, this is a strong school with a clear focus on pupils’ outcomes and wellbeing. The next step is for leaders to continue refining and evaluating attendance work so that attendance improves and persistent absence reduces for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils, narrowing the gap with their peers.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve well across a broad curriculum and are prepared effectively for the next stage of education.
• Published outcomes in national tests consistently exceed national averages in many areas, particularly reading.
• The curriculum is ambitious, carefully sequenced and delivered consistently well.
• Phonics teaching is systematic and effective, with books well matched to pupils’ phonic knowledge.
• Teachers use assessment effectively to identify gaps and provide timely support.
• Children make a highly positive start in the early years and are very well prepared for Year 1.
• Inclusion is at the heart of the school’s work, with effective support for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
• The Aviary provision is carefully designed to meet pupils’ individual needs and promote independence.
• Leadership and governance are ambitious and thoughtful, with strong support and challenge from trust leaders and local governors.
• Personal development and wellbeing are central to school life, with a rich programme of experiences and opportunities.
• Pupils’ behaviour is highly positive, and relationships between pupils and staff are respectful and supportive.
• Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils feel safe and know how to keep themselves safe.

Areas for Improvement

• Attendance for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils remains below national averages over time.
• Persistent absence for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils remains too high.
• Improvements in attendance for disadvantaged pupils have not resulted in sustained progress over time.
• Some pupils continue to miss significant amounts of education because of ongoing attendance concerns.

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 Southam Primary School attended 95.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.4% 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, 1.2% of pupils at Southam 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 Southam Primary School had 22.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.0% 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, 7.8% of pupils at Southam 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 Southam Primary School received £5,648 and spent £5,604 for each of its 406 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £187,000 (£461 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of Stowe Valley Multi Academy Trust, income was £6,523 and spending £6,557 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 Southam · Warwickshire local authority: places and applications

Southam Primary School is part of Stowe Valley Multi Academy Trust, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• Southam College Southam
• Stockton Primary School Southam
• Bishops Itchington Primary School Southam
• Oakley School Leamington Spa
• Temple Herdewyke Primary School Southam
• Myton Gardens Warwick
• Myton School Warwick
• Coten End Primary School Warwick
• Kineton High School Warwick
• Byfield School Daventry

What is Southam Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Southam Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Southam Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Southam Primary School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Southam Primary School have?

Southam Primary School has 412 pupils on roll.

What age range does Southam Primary School cover?

Southam Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 76% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Southam Primary School?

Southam Primary School is at St James Road, Southam, Warwickshire, CV47 0QB.