Northleaze Church of England Primary School

Northleaze Church of England Primary School is performing well overall. Inspectors found the school at the expected standard across all evaluated areas, and safeguarding standards are met. It is a small Church of England academy and nursery within the Lighthouse Schools Partnership trust, serving a relatively advantaged community. Leaders have stabilised the school after a period of change, strengthened the curriculum, especially writing, and embedded routines that support calm, orderly learning. Pupils achieve well, with reading and mathematics outcomes consistently above national averages, and attendance is high, with absence and persistent absence well below national averages. Pupils behave well, feel safe, and benefit from a broad personal development programme and strong early years provision. However, provision is not yet consistently strong for all pupils. Teaching sometimes does not precisely build on what pupils already know, which can limit how deeply they understand the curriculum. Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is sometimes inconsistent, and pupils with higher academic starting points do not always achieve the high standards they could. The next steps focus on ensuring teaching consistently checks and builds on prior knowledge and that staff make effective adaptations for pupils with SEND. Overall, the school is in a good position but has clear, specific areas to sharpen.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve well, with reading and mathematics outcomes consistently above national averages.
• Attendance is high, and absence and persistent absence are significantly below national averages.
• Pupils behave well, are polite and respectful, and rarely disrupt learning.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture and pupils feeling safe.
• Leaders have stabilised the school after change and strengthened the curriculum, especially writing.
• Staff receive effective professional development that improves teaching quality.
• Early years provision builds strong language, reading, number and social foundations.
• Personal development develops pupils' understanding of British values, civic duty and spirituality.
• Leaders work well with families and external partners to support attendance and vulnerable pupils.
• The pupil premium strategy is well designed and evaluated to support disadvantaged pupils.
• Staff wellbeing is a priority, and staff are proud to work at the school.
• Governance and trust arrangements provide effective support and challenge for improvement.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching does not consistently check and build on what pupils already know and can do.
• Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is inconsistent, sometimes limiting their learning and achievement.
• Pupils with higher academic starting points sometimes do not achieve the high standards they could.
• Some early years teaching is not adapted to build on what children already know and can do.
• Not all staff make precise adaptations to meet pupils' existing knowledge and needs.

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 Northleaze Church of England Primary School attended 97.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 2.4% 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, 2.0% of pupils at Northleaze 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 Northleaze Church of England Primary School had 21.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 39.3% 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, 4.3% of pupils at Northleaze Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.7% 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 Northleaze Church of England Primary School received £5,867 and spent £5,891 for each of its 199 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £122,000 (£615 per pupil).

Across all 33 schools of Lighthouse Schools Partnership, income was £6,883 and spending £6,752 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 Bristol · North Somerset local authority: places and applications

Northleaze Church of England Primary School is part of Lighthouse Schools Partnership, which runs 33 schools. The nearest others:

• Flax Bourton Church of England Primary School Bristol
• St Mary Redcliffe Church of England Primary School Bristol
• Winford Church of England Primary School Bristol
• Backwell Church of England Junior School Bristol
• Easton CofE Primary School Bristol
• Backwell School Bristol
• St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Portbury Bristol
• Whitchurch Primary School Bristol
• Golden Valley Primary School Bristol
• West Leigh Infant School Bristol

What is Northleaze Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Northleaze Church of England Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Northleaze Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Northleaze Church of England Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Northleaze Church of England Primary School have?

Northleaze Church of England Primary School has 187 pupils on roll.

What age range does Northleaze Church of England Primary School cover?

Northleaze Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Northleaze Church of England Primary School?

Northleaze Church of England Primary School is at Brook Close, Long Ashton, Bristol, BS41 9NG.