Stanton Drew Primary School

Stanton Drew Primary is a small, welcoming school with a strong family feel and a culture of nurture and care. Inspectors found that pupils attend well, feel safe and behave well, and that relationships between staff and pupils are strong. Leaders have high expectations, and pupils respond positively, value rewards and enjoy the breadth of experiences offered. The school is judged good across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced in most subjects, with particular strengths in early reading and phonics, mathematics, early years and personal development. Children in Reception get off to a strong start, and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified and supported effectively, including through external agencies. The personal development offer is rich and diverse, helping pupils understand British values, culture and faiths and take on responsibilities such as eco and mental health leader roles. Governance and trust oversight are strong, staffing has stabilised, and staff feel supported. The main areas for improvement concern the few subjects where curriculum content and sequencing are not precise enough, so pupils do not build confidently on prior knowledge. In some subjects, teaching does not yet help pupils reach the intended curriculum goals because not all staff have the training and expertise to make the right pedagogical choices. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first section 5 inspection; it is an academy within The Lighthouse Partnership and was previously judged outstanding before opening as an academy.

Strengths

• Welcoming, nurturing culture with a strong family feel
• Strong relationships between staff and pupils
• Pupils attend well, feel safe and behave positively
• High expectations for all pupils are realised
• Well-planned phonics and early reading provision
• Strong early years provision that builds children's skills and independence
• Effective identification and support for pupils with SEND
• Rich and diverse personal development curriculum
• Pupils develop tolerance, respect and understanding of British values
• Meaningful pupil leadership roles build confidence and independence
• Good use of local community links and wider experiences
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Strong governance and trust oversight with accurate understanding of priorities
• Staff feel supported with well-being and workload

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum sequencing is not precise enough in a few subjects, limiting pupils' ability to build on prior knowledge
• In some subjects, teaching does not support pupils to reach intended curriculum goals
• Not all staff have the training and expertise to make appropriate pedagogical choices
• Pupils do not develop sufficient depth of knowledge in some subjects

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 Stanton Drew Primary School attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.7% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Stanton Drew 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 Stanton Drew Primary School had 14.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 29.4% 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, 17.0% of pupils at Stanton Drew Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.3% 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 Stanton Drew Primary School received £9,760 and spent £9,785 for each of its 57 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £5,000 (-£83 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 · Bath and North East Somerset local authority: places and applications

Stanton Drew Primary School is part of Lighthouse Schools Partnership, which runs 33 schools. The nearest others:

• Chew Valley School Bristol
• Bishop Sutton Primary School Bristol
• Whitchurch Primary School Bristol
• Winford Church of England Primary School Bristol
• East Harptree Church of England Primary School Bristol
• Ubley Church of England Primary School Bristol
• St Mary Redcliffe Church of England Primary School Bristol
• Northleaze Church of England Primary School Bristol
• Blagdon Primary School Bristol
• Easton CofE Primary School Bristol

What is Stanton Drew Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Stanton Drew Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Stanton Drew Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Stanton Drew Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Stanton Drew Primary School have?

Stanton Drew Primary School has 47 pupils on roll.

What age range does Stanton Drew Primary School cover?

Stanton Drew Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 45% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Stanton Drew Primary School?

Stanton Drew Primary School is at Upper Stanton, Stanton Drew, Bristol, BS39 4EQ.