North Curry CofE Primary School

North Curry CofE Primary School is a smaller-than-average Church of England primary in the Richard Huish Trust. This was its first section 5 inspection since becoming an academy converter, and, under the current framework, no overall effectiveness grade was awarded. Inspectors judged the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision to be good, with safeguarding arrangements effective. The school is calm and orderly, with high expectations and positive pupil attitudes. Children get a strong start in the early years, reading and phonics are prioritised well, and pupils benefit from an ambitious curriculum in subjects such as mathematics and history. Pupils take on leadership roles, support younger children, engage in fundraising and receive strong pastoral care. Staff are proud to work at the school and value trust support, while governance has an accurate view of the school. The main areas for improvement concern curriculum precision and SEND support. In some wider subjects, the school has not yet identified and sequenced the important knowledge pupils need, leaving gaps for some pupils. Some pupils with SEND are not identified or supported quickly enough, and learning plans are not consistently precise, so these pupils do not always progress well enough. The trust must ensure precise knowledge is sequenced across all subjects and develop staff expertise so pupils with SEND receive timely, targeted support.

Strengths

• Calm and orderly school culture with high expectations for pupils
• Strong and settled start for children in the early years
• Reading and phonics are prioritised and taught well
• Pupils become confident and fluent readers with a love of reading
• Ambitious curriculum design with clear small steps in mathematics
• Pupils demonstrate secure depth of knowledge in history
• Positive pupil attitudes and clear routines support learning
• Pupil leadership roles help pupils become active and responsible citizens
• Pastoral support is a high priority and pupils are confident they can get help
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Staff are proud to work at the school and value support from colleagues and the trust
• Governance has an accurate view of the school and is ambitious for pupils

Areas for Improvement

• In some wider subjects, important knowledge has not been identified and sequenced precisely enough
• Some pupils have gaps in knowledge and are less prepared for future learning
• Some pupils with SEND are not identified and supported quickly enough
• Learning plans for some pupils with SEND are not consistently precise enough to address specific gaps
• Some pupils with SEND are not progressing well enough across the curriculum
• The trust must ensure precise knowledge is sequenced across all subjects and check that pupils learn the curriculum well
• The trust needs to develop staff expertise to identify pupils’ needs early and provide targeted support

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 North Curry CofE Primary School attended 96.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 2.7% 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, 0.7% of pupils at North Curry CofE 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 North Curry CofE Primary School had 20.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.9% 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, 8.2% of pupils at North Curry CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.0% 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 North Curry CofE Primary School received £7,240 and spent £7,232 for each of its 139 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,000 (£11 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of Richard Huish Trust, income was £6,645 and spending £6,438 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 Taunton · Somerset local authority: places and applications

North Curry CofE Primary School is part of Richard Huish Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Nerrols Primary School and Nursery Taunton
• Lyngford Park Primary School Taunton
• Richard Huish College Taunton
• North Town Academy Taunton
• West Buckland Primary School Wellington

What is North Curry CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for North Curry CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was North Curry CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

North Curry CofE Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does North Curry CofE Primary School have?

North Curry CofE Primary School has 146 pupils on roll.

What age range does North Curry CofE Primary School cover?

North Curry CofE Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are North Curry CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 79% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is North Curry CofE Primary School?

North Curry CofE Primary School is at Greenway, North Curry, Taunton, Somerset, TA3 6NQ.