Shakespeare Primary School

Shakespeare Primary is a good school across all inspected areas, having improved from a previous requires-improvement judgement. It is an academy converter within The Learning Academies Trust and serves a pupil population with more disadvantaged pupils than average. Inspectors found a cohesive, research-informed drive for improvement, with better outcomes now, especially for disadvantaged pupils. Pupils feel safe and enjoy school; nurturing relationships and clear behavioural expectations create a positive climate. Reading and phonics are particular strengths, vocabulary and oracy are deliberately developed, and pupils with SEND are well supported through adaptations. Pastoral care, attendance work and safeguarding are effective, and pupils have meaningful opportunities to contribute through the school parliament. The main area to improve is curriculum consistency. A few subjects are at an earlier stage of design and implementation, so pupils do not always build and remember important knowledge securely in a logical sequence. Leaders need to ensure key concepts are known and remembered before pupils move on.

Strengths

• Nurturing relationships create a strong culture where pupils feel and are safe.
• Pupils behave well, understand routines and are polite and respectful.
• Pupils engage well in partner talk, group work and class discussions.
• Trust and senior leaders have responded rigorously to previous weaknesses.
• Improvements are research-informed and embedded in policy and practice.
• Disadvantaged pupils now achieve much better outcomes.
• Reading is central to the curriculum and phonics is taught effectively.
• Vocabulary and oracy are ambitious, subject-specific and inclusive.
• Pupils with SEND benefit from effective adaptations and learn alongside peers.
• Early years children are confident and independent.
• Pastoral support for social, emotional and mental health needs is extensive.
• Attendance is managed robustly and is rising, including persistent absence.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Staff value trust networking and shared workload.

Areas for Improvement

• A few subjects are at an earlier stage of curriculum design and implementation.
• In some curriculum areas, pupils do not have secure knowledge and struggle to remember key content.
• Knowledge is not always sequenced logically so pupils can deepen understanding over time.

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 Shakespeare Primary School attended 92.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.8% 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, 2.8% of pupils at Shakespeare 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 Shakespeare Primary School had 21.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.7% 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, 25.2% of pupils at Shakespeare Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.9% 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 Shakespeare Primary School received £7,568 and spent £7,306 for each of its 387 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £380,000 (£983 per pupil).

Across all 18 schools of Learning Academies Trust, income was £7,222 and spending £6,990 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 Plymouth · Plymouth local authority: places and applications

Shakespeare Primary School is part of Learning Academies Trust, which runs 18 schools. The nearest others:

• Knowle Primary School Plymouth
• Woodfield Primary School Plymouth
• Plaistow Hill Primary and Nursery School Plymouth
• Mayflower Academy Plymouth
• Victoria Road Primary Plymouth
• Ford Primary School Plymouth
• Hyde Park Junior School Plymouth
• Hyde Park Infants' School Plymouth
• Widewell Primary Academy Plymouth
• Mount Street Primary School Plymouth

What is Shakespeare Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Shakespeare Primary School is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Shakespeare Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Shakespeare Primary School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Shakespeare Primary School have?

Shakespeare Primary School has 381 pupils on roll.

What age range does Shakespeare Primary School cover?

Shakespeare Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 50% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Shakespeare Primary School?

Shakespeare Primary School is at 400 Honicknowle Lane, Honicknowle, Plymouth, Devon, PL5 3JU.