Luckwell Primary School

Luckwell Primary School is a small, welcoming primary school that is performing well across all inspected areas. Inspectors judged the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision to be good. This is a notable improvement from the previous inspection, when the school required improvement. Pupils are enthusiastic, curious and achieve well, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They feel happy and safe, behave well, and benefit from a calm and purposeful environment. The school has made swift and comprehensive changes to its curriculum, with strong support from Excalibur Academies Trust, which it joined in September 2023. Reading is a particular strength: phonics is taught precisely from Reception, pupils read often, and those at risk of falling behind receive effective support. Staff are well trained, pupils develop strong vocabulary and communication skills, and provision for pupils with SEND is accurately identified and well supported. Attendance work is effective, safeguarding is effective, and pupils take part in activities that build responsibility and prepare them for life in modern Britain. There are still areas to improve. Historic weaknesses in some foundation subjects have left gaps in pupils' knowledge, so pupils sometimes struggle to recall and build on earlier learning. Assessment procedures in some foundation subjects are at an early stage and are not yet used well enough to check learning and address gaps. Leaders and the trust have an accurate view of these issues and recognise that recent curriculum improvements need to be embedded and their impact kept under review.

Strengths

• Strong, precise phonics teaching from Reception
• Pupils become fluent and enthusiastic readers
• Ambitious curriculum has been redeveloped swiftly and comprehensively
• Pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics
• Pupils with SEND are accurately identified and well supported
• Pupils behave well and show positive attitudes to learning
• School environment is calm and purposeful
• Pupils are respectful and value others' opinions, cultures and beliefs
• Personal development is strong, including pupil-led mental health and community work
• Vocabulary and communication skills are developed well across the school
• Attendance is carefully monitored and improving
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Trust and school leaders have an accurate view of strengths and areas for development
• Staff are well trained and feel supported through recent changes
• Early years children settle quickly and understand routines well

Areas for Improvement

• Historic curriculum weaknesses have left knowledge gaps in some foundation subjects
• Pupils sometimes struggle to recall and build on previous learning in these subjects
• Assessment procedures in some foundation subjects are at an early stage
• Assessment information is not used effectively enough to adjust lessons and address gaps
• Approaches to checking pupils' learning are less well developed in a few subjects
• Recent curriculum improvements need to be embedded and their impact kept under review

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 Luckwell Primary School attended 94.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 21.1% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Luckwell 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 Luckwell Primary School had 15.4 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, 11.6% of pupils at Luckwell Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.3% 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 Luckwell Primary School received £9,831 and spent £10,916 for each of its 76 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £38,000 (£506 per pupil).

Across all 20 schools of Excalibur Academies Trust, income was £7,945 and spending £8,027 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 · Bristol, City of local authority: places and applications

Luckwell Primary School is part of Excalibur Academies Trust, which runs 20 schools. The nearest others:

• Compass Point Primary School Bristol
• Ashton Vale Primary School Bristol
• Ashton Park School Bristol
• Cabot Primary School Bristol
• Redland Green School Bristol
• Fairfield High School Bristol
• May Park Primary School Bristol
• Oare Church of England Primary School Marlborough
• St John's Marlborough Marlborough
• Nythe Primary School Swindon

What is Luckwell Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Luckwell Primary School is Good, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was Luckwell Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Luckwell Primary School was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does Luckwell Primary School have?

Luckwell Primary School has 86 pupils on roll.

What age range does Luckwell Primary School cover?

Luckwell Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 27% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Luckwell Primary School?

Luckwell Primary School is at Luckwell Road, Bedminster, Bristol, BS3 3ET.