Breage CofE Primary School

Breage CofE Primary School is a small village primary within the Aspire Academy Trust. Safeguarding is met, and inspectors found a caring, supportive culture where pupils feel safe and attendance is improving rapidly. Behaviour is very positive, bullying and exclusions are rare, and pupils benefit from effective pastoral support, a coherent personal development programme, and a broad range of enrichment activities. Inclusion is a strength: staff know pupils' circumstances well, support those with SEND effectively, and leaders work closely with families. The school also has a broad, well-sequenced curriculum, and recent improvements are evident in some subjects and in handwriting, spelling and grammar. However, achievement is below national averages in reading, writing and mathematics, and no pupils have reached higher standards in the last three years. Writing at length lacks stamina, and pupils struggle with complex mathematics without adult support. Teaching is not consistently securing core knowledge; expectations are sometimes too low, questioning does not always deepen thinking, and some staff lack subject confidence. Leadership turbulence has slowed improvement, and senior trust leaders have not taken strategic action quickly enough. The situation has stabilised, and current leaders and trustees are taking appropriate steps, but these are recent and not yet fully embedded. The next steps focus on raising achievement, improving teaching consistency, and strengthening governance and trust support.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture where concerns are actively identified and managed.
• Pupils' attendance is improving rapidly, with leaders re-establishing clear expectations and warmly greeting families.
• Pupils' behaviour is very positive, with bullying and exclusions very rare.
• Pupils feel safe, supported and part of a caring local community.
• Staff know every child's circumstances well and work to reduce barriers to learning.
• Pupils with SEND receive generally effective additional support and adaptations.
• The personal development programme is coherent, well sequenced and meets statutory requirements.
• A broad range of clubs and enrichment activities, including residential and London visits, broadens pupils' horizons.
• Pastoral support for pupils and families is effective, with signposting to external services.
• Younger pupils gain a secure start in phonics and early mathematics.
• Recent improvements are evident in handwriting, spelling, grammar, history and science.
• Additional funding is used effectively to support early reading and mathematics for disadvantaged pupils.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' achievement over time is below the national average in reading, writing and mathematics.
• No pupils have been stretched to reach higher standards in the last three years.
• Pupils' writing at length lacks stamina and speed.
• Pupils are not confident solving complex mathematical problems without adult support.
• Teaching over time does not secure pupils' core knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics well enough.
• Leaders' curriculum expectations are not enacted consistently in teaching quality.
• Expectations of what pupils can achieve are sometimes not high enough.
• Some pupils are unclear about what is expected of them.
• Teacher questioning does not always challenge pupils to explain or reason fully.
• Pupils' independent working is not promoted consistently.
• Some staff lack sufficient subject knowledge and confidence.
• Recent improvements to handwriting, spelling and grammar are not fully embedded.
• Pupils do not apply writing knowledge across the curriculum.
• Leadership turbulence has impacted the school's ability to drive improvements.
• Senior trust leaders have not taken strategic action to bring about rapid improvement.
• Current improvements are very recent and not fully embedded.
• Governance and trust leaders should challenge and support school leaders more effectively.

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 Breage CofE Primary School attended 92.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.2% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Breage 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 Breage CofE Primary School had 15.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 24.2% 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, 28.2% of pupils at Breage CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.7% 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 Breage CofE Primary School received £11,577 and spent £12,562 for each of its 39 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £11,000 (£290 per pupil).

Across all 38 schools of Aspire Academy Trust, income was £7,450 and spending £7,448 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 Helston · Cornwall local authority: places and applications

Breage CofE Primary School is part of Aspire Academy Trust, which runs 38 schools. The nearest others:

• Nansloe Academy Helston
• Crowan Primary School Camborne
• Connor Downs Academy Hayle
• St Uny CofE Academy St Ives
• Manaccan Primary School Helston
• Grade-Ruan CofE Primary School Helston
• Penryn Primary Academy Penryn
• St Keverne Primary School Helston
• Cusgarne Primary School Truro
• Coverack Primary School Helston

What is Breage CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Breage CofE Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Breage CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Breage CofE Primary School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Breage CofE Primary School have?

Breage CofE Primary School has 39 pupils on roll.

What age range does Breage CofE Primary School cover?

Breage CofE Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

Where is Breage CofE Primary School?

Breage CofE Primary School is at Trewithick Road, Breage, Helston, Cornwall, TR13 9PZ.