Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary School

Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary School is a warm, nurturing school where pupils feel safe, valued and proud to be part of the community. Inspectors found behaviour to be excellent, reading and phonics teaching to be strong, and the curriculum to be ambitious and well planned. Personal development is a notable strength, with pupils learning about safety, wellbeing, relationships and respect, and taking part in a wide range of enrichment and leadership opportunities. Early years provision is well led and children typically achieve above national averages, while safeguarding standards are met. Staff feel supported, parents value the school's approachable staff, and governors and trust leaders fulfil their responsibilities. However, several areas need attention. Disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities do not make enough progress or close learning gaps quickly enough. Writing outcomes are below national averages, particularly for disadvantaged pupils, and support for these pupils is not consistently used in lessons. Leaders' systems for checking inclusion and the impact of improvement work are not sharp enough, so they do not yet have a clear picture of what is working best. Attendance is also a concern: disadvantaged pupils miss school too often, and leaders do not analyse attendance closely enough to improve this. Leadership has identified the right priorities and built positive relationships, but improvement needs to happen more rapidly and consistently. Early years provision is strong overall, although staff occasionally miss opportunities to build on children's ideas during interactions.

Strengths

• Warm, nurturing and inclusive school community where pupils feel safe and valued
• Excellent pupil behaviour and a calm, friendly atmosphere
• Strong focus on reading and phonics, helping most pupils become confident readers early
• Ambitious, well-planned and logically sequenced curriculum across subjects
• Early years provision is well led, with children typically achieving above national averages
• Broad personal development curriculum covering safety, wellbeing, relationships and respect
• Wide range of enrichment activities, clubs, educational visits and outdoor learning
• Effective pastoral and emotional support for pupils who need extra help
• Pupils are given leadership responsibilities and contribute actively to school life
• Staff feel supported, training is linked to priorities, and workload is considered
• Positive relationships with parents and carers, who value the support they receive
• Governors and trustees fulfil statutory responsibilities and provide appropriate challenge and support

Areas for Improvement

• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND do not close learning gaps quickly enough
• Writing outcomes are below national averages, particularly for disadvantaged pupils
• Support for pupils with SEND is not consistently used in lessons
• Leaders' inclusion monitoring systems are not adequate to show what support works best
• Leaders do not evaluate the impact of improvement work sharply enough
• Attendance analysis is not close enough to identify patterns or target support effectively
• Disadvantaged pupils continue to miss school too often
• Consistency of adaptive teaching varies between classes
• Early years staff occasionally miss opportunities to build on children's ideas

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 Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary School attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.4% 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, 0.6% of pupils at Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England 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 Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary School had 17.8 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, 11.0% of pupils at Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.5% 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 2023–24 Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary School received £6,748 and spent £6,370 for each of its 155 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £130,000 (-£838 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of The Merchant Taylors' Oxfordshire Academy Trust Ltd, income was £7,367 and spending £7,444 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 Wallingford · Oxfordshire local authority: places and applications

Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary School is part of The Merchant Taylors' Oxfordshire Academy Trust Ltd, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• Wallingford School Wallingford
• Aylesbury UTC Aylesbury

What is Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary School have?

Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary School has 163 pupils on roll.

What age range does Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary School cover?

Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 48% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary School?

Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell Church of England Primary School is at Greenmere, Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 0QH.