Ashcombe Primary School

Ashcombe Primary School is currently performing at an expected standard with several notable strengths in safeguarding and pupil behavior. The leadership team effectively engages with parents and prioritizes the emotional and educational needs of pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. Although there are areas in which the school excels, such as strong attendance efforts and nurturing early years education, concerns arise regarding the academic achievement of pupils, especially in writing and overall curriculum delivery. Further development is needed to ensure all pupils are well-prepared for their next educational stages.

Strengths

• Strong safeguarding culture ensuring pupils feel safe.
• Effective relationships between staff, parents, and pupils.
• Improving attendance rates through personalized support.
• Positive behavior environment fostered by high expectations.
• Well-planned early years curriculum promoting readiness.
• Robust phonics teaching supporting reading development.
• Variety of extra-curricular activities enhancing personal development.

Areas for Improvement

• Low achievement rates in national assessments.
• Inconsistent quality of teaching leading to gaps in knowledge.
• Lack of ambition in academic tasks set for pupils.
• Inadequate monitoring of school improvement initiatives.

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 Ashcombe Primary School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.1% 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, 1.9% of pupils at Ashcombe 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 Ashcombe Primary School had 23.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.0% 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, 11.2% of pupils at Ashcombe Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.0% 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 Ashcombe Primary School received £6,219 and spent £6,020 for each of its 624 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £692,000 (£1,109 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Kaleidoscope Multi Academy Trust, income was £6,746 and spending £6,505 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 Weston-Super-Mare · North Somerset local authority: places and applications

Ashcombe Primary School is part of Kaleidoscope Multi Academy Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Christ Church Church of England Primary School Weston-Super-Mare
• St Martin's Church of England Primary School Weston-Super-Mare
• Worle Village Primary School Weston-Super-Mare
• Hutton Church of England Primary School Weston-Super-Mare
• Becket Primary School Weston-Super-Mare
• Crockerne Church of England Primary School Bristol

What is Ashcombe Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ashcombe Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in May 2026.

When was Ashcombe Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Ashcombe Primary School was last inspected in May 2026.

How many pupils does Ashcombe Primary School have?

Ashcombe Primary School has 627 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ashcombe Primary School cover?

Ashcombe Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 55% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Ashcombe Primary School?

Ashcombe Primary School is at Earlham Grove, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, BS23 3JW.