Padbury Church of England School

Padbury Church of England School is a small primary school in Buckinghamshire, part of the Oxford Diocesan Bucks Schools Trust. Inspectors found the school performing well overall. Pupils achieve highly: outcomes in core subjects are consistently above national averages, all Year 1 pupils passed the phonics check in 2025, and disadvantaged pupils make clear progress. Attendance is a sustained strength, well above national averages and pre-pandemic levels, with persistent absence significantly lower than average. Behaviour is respectful and inclusive, and pupils are polite and engaged. Personal development, early years provision, inclusion and leadership are all at least expected, with a clear vision for pupils’ development and effective pastoral support. Safeguarding standards are met. The school has a higher-than-average proportion of pupils with SEN support, and leaders use extensive training and external expertise to meet a wide range of needs. However, there are areas for further development. Curriculum monitoring is not yet fully systematic or precise, so leaders do not consistently identify next steps or evaluate how well teaching meets all pupils’ needs. Monitoring is also less robust for some pupils who face barriers to learning or wellbeing but are currently achieving expected outcomes. Leaders are refining pupil premium systems to better account for the cost and impact of support. Governance challenge is not always fully evident in minutes, though the trust is strengthening this. Overall, the school is in a strong position, with clear priorities for improvement and effective support from the trust.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve highly, with outcomes in core subjects consistently well above national averages.
• All Year 1 pupils passed the phonics screening check in 2025.
• Disadvantaged pupils make clear progress from their starting points.
• Attendance is a sustained strength, consistently above national averages and pre-COVID levels.
• Persistent absence is significantly lower than average.
• Pupils are polite, confident and behave respectfully; bullying and serious incidents are rare.
• Playtimes are calm and positive, with pupils of different ages including others naturally.
• Personal development vision is clear and coherent, shaped around the ‘Padbury Child’.
• Pastoral support is highly effective and contributes positively to pupils’ wellbeing, behaviour and attendance.
• The curriculum is broad, balanced and well-sequenced, with effective early reading and mathematics.
• Early years provision is calm, welcoming and well organised, helping children settle quickly.
• Inclusion is a clear priority, with timely and targeted support and extensive staff training.
• Leaders are focused on continuous improvement and are attentive to staff wellbeing.
• The trust provides effective support and challenge, and governance is committed and informed.
• Safeguarding standards are met.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum monitoring is not yet fully systematic or precise.
• Leaders do not consistently identify clear next steps for improvement or evaluate how well teaching meets all pupils’ needs.
• Monitoring is less robust for some pupils who face barriers to learning or wellbeing but are currently achieving expected outcomes.
• Pupil premium systems are still being refined to account more precisely for costs and impact.
• Governance challenge is not always fully evident in the minutes of meetings.

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 Padbury Church of England School attended 97.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 2.2% 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, 1.9% of pupils at Padbury Church of England 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 Padbury Church of England School had 24.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.7% 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, 25.0% of pupils at Padbury Church of England School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.8% 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 Padbury Church of England School received £7,468 and spent £7,715 for each of its 106 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £99,000 (£936 per pupil).

Across all 14 schools of Oxford Diocesan Bucks Schools Trust, income was £7,077 and spending £7,224 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 Buckingham · Buckinghamshire local authority: places and applications

Padbury Church of England School is part of Oxford Diocesan Bucks Schools Trust, which runs 15 schools. The nearest others:

• Great Horwood Church of England School Milton Keynes
• Christ the Sower Ecumenical Primary School Milton Keynes
• Cold Harbour Church of England School Milton Keynes
• St Mary's Church of England School Aylesbury
• Longwick Church of England Combined School Princes Risborough
• St John's Church of England Primary School, Lacey Green Princes Risborough
• Elmtree Infant and Nursery School Chesham
• Chiltern Hills Academy Chesham
• The Downley School High Wycombe
• Thomas Harding Junior School Chesham

What is Padbury Church of England School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Padbury Church of England School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Padbury Church of England School last inspected by Ofsted?

Padbury Church of England School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Padbury Church of England School have?

Padbury Church of England School has 104 pupils on roll.

What age range does Padbury Church of England School cover?

Padbury Church of England School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Padbury Church of England School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 94% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Padbury Church of England School?

Padbury Church of England School is at Main Road, Padbury, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, MK18 2AP.