Godolphin Primary School

Godolphin Primary School is a small school within Crofty Education Trust. Inspectors found it performs securely overall, with safeguarding standards met. Attendance and behaviour and inclusion are strong, and personal development and wellbeing is also strong. Pupils attend very regularly, behave well, feel safe and supported, and benefit from a caring, community-centred ethos. Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported well, and disadvantaged pupil funding is monitored closely. Achievement, curriculum and teaching, early years, and leadership and governance are judged at expected standard. Standards in reading, writing and mathematics are generally in line with national averages, with writing a particular strength, and pupils are well prepared for secondary school. However, teaching quality varies, and expectations for handwriting and spelling are not fully embedded. Assessment information is not always used precisely to adapt teaching, leaving some foundation subject knowledge, such as geography and religious education, less secure. Early years practice is broadly effective but not consistently precise in checking understanding and extending language. Leaders and governors show commitment to improvement, with strengthened trust oversight and clear priorities for handwriting, spelling and adaptive teaching. The main next steps are to raise achievement consistently across the curriculum, embed adaptive teaching in writing and mathematics, and strengthen subject leadership so planned improvements have the intended impact. Data also shows disadvantaged pupils' outcomes in reading and mathematics are below national averages, with a wide disadvantage gap, though cohorts are small.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive safeguarding culture.
• Pupils attend school very regularly, and persistent absence is extremely low.
• Leaders provide effective support to improve attendance for pupils and families.
• Pupils behave well and have positive attitudes to learning.
• Bullying is rare, and pupils trust adults to deal with incidents swiftly.
• Pupils' needs, including SEND, are identified and assessed quickly and accurately.
• Support for pupils with SEND is detailed, thorough and effective in reducing barriers.
• Leaders closely monitor the impact of additional funding for disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils enjoy a strong personal development curriculum and develop understanding of difference and tolerance.
• Pupils take on leadership roles and have an active voice in school and community.
• Pupils are well prepared for the next phase of education, including careers and money management.
• A wide range of extra-curricular activities, trips and residentials enriches pupils' lives.
• Pupils feel welcome, valued and respected and have a strong sense of belonging.
• Early years staff build strong partnerships with pre-school providers and prioritise language, literacy and numeracy.
• Leaders and governors show clear commitment to improvement, with strengthened trust oversight and effective moral leadership.
• Staff feel valued and supported, with strong teamwork across the school.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' knowledge in some foundation subjects, such as geography and religious education, is less secure.
• Handwriting and spelling expectations are not yet embedded consistently across the school.
• Teaching quality and precision vary between subjects and classrooms.
• Teacher modelling of correct number formation and digit placement occasionally lapses.
• Checks on pupils' learning are not always used precisely enough to adapt curriculum content or teaching approaches.
• Some writing activities do not build sufficiently on prior learning.
• Early years staff do not consistently use children's responses to check understanding or adapt teaching precisely.
• Early years staff do not always extend vocabulary, language or consolidate learning to ensure secure understanding.
• Subject leadership needs to improve, with better monitoring of the impact of actions.
• Disadvantaged pupils' combined outcomes and reading and mathematics outcomes are below national averages, with a wide disadvantage gap.
• Leaders' strategic work is effective but implementation at classroom level still varies.

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 Godolphin Primary School attended 96.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.0% 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 Godolphin 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 Godolphin Primary School had 22.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 33.3% 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, 3.7% of pupils at Godolphin Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.5% 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 Godolphin Primary School received £7,257 and spent £9,136 for each of its 74 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £35,000 (£472 per pupil).

Across all 17 schools of Crofty Education Trust, income was £7,035 and spending £6,965 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

Godolphin Primary School is part of Crofty Education Trust, which runs 18 schools. The nearest others:

• Sithney Community Primary School Helston
• Porthleven School Helston
• Trannack Primary School Helston
• Parc Eglos School Helston
• Penpol School Hayle
• Marazion School Marazion
• Weeth Community Primary School Camborne
• Halwin School Helston
• Roskear Primary & Nursery School Camborne
• Rosemellin Community Primary School Camborne

What is Godolphin Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Godolphin Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Godolphin Primary School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Godolphin Primary School have?

Godolphin Primary School has 81 pupils on roll.

What age range does Godolphin Primary School cover?

Godolphin Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 56% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Godolphin Primary School?

Godolphin Primary School is at Godolphin Cross, Breage, Helston, Cornwall, TR13 9RB.