Bishops Castle Primary School

Bishops Castle Primary School is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating across all areas of inspection. The school fosters a nurturing environment where pupils thrive and feel safe. There is a strong focus on promoting positive behavior and respect among students, which contributes to high attendance and a supportive school culture. The leadership has effectively raised expectations for pupil outcomes and has developed a broad curriculum that supports learning progression, particularly in reading and mathematics, as well as in writing, which has been a recent focus for improvement. However, there are areas that require further attention. Despite improvements in key stage 2 outcomes, past performance was below national averages, and while the curriculum is ambitious, the impact of recent changes has not been fully monitored. Ensuring that learning activities precisely meet the needs of pupils is vital for future success.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy and thrive in a nurturing environment.
• Strong emphasis on positive behavior and respect.
• Effective leadership has raised expectations for pupil achievement.
• Broad and ambitious curriculum with well-sequenced learning.
• High-quality training for staff resulting in strong subject knowledge.
• Strong support and inclusion for pupils with special educational needs.

Areas for Improvement

• Learning activities do not always match what pupils need to know.
• Recent curriculum changes have not been fully evaluated.

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 Bishops Castle Primary School attended 93.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.1% 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, 3.7% of pupils at Bishops Castle 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 Bishops Castle Primary School had 20.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.7% 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, 20.3% of pupils at Bishops Castle 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 Bishops Castle Primary School received £7,468 and spent £7,024 for each of its 136 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £144,000 (£1,061 per pupil).

Across all 19 schools of Diocese of Hereford Multi Academy Trust, income was £8,025 and spending £7,825 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 Shropshire · Shropshire local authority: places and applications

Bishops Castle Primary School is part of Diocese of Hereford Multi Academy Trust, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• Lydbury North Church of England Primary School
• St George's CofE Academy, Clun Craven Arms
• Onny CofE (A) Primary School Craven Arms
• St Edward's CofE Primary School Shrewsbury
• Ludlow Church of England School Ludlow
• Ludlow Primary School Ludlow
• Condover CofE Primary School Shrewsbury
• Bitterley CofE Primary School (Aided) Ludlow
• Pembridge CofE Primary School Leominster
• Burford CofE Primary School Tenbury Wells

What is Bishops Castle Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bishops Castle Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was Bishops Castle Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bishops Castle Primary School was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does Bishops Castle Primary School have?

Bishops Castle Primary School has 128 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bishops Castle Primary School cover?

Bishops Castle Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

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

Where is Bishops Castle Primary School?

Bishops Castle Primary School is at Oak Meadow, Bishops Castle, Shropshire, SY9 5PA.