Roundswell Community Primary Academy

Roundswell Community Primary Academy demonstrates good overall performance, being a newly established school that has recently undergone its first routine inspection. The school's strengths are reflected in the quality of education, behavior, personal development, and leadership. The nurturing environment provided by dedicated staff contributes to pupils being happy and confident learners. The school has effectively addressed learning gaps caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in early reading, supported by a well-sequenced phonics curriculum. While the school excels in several areas, including strong support for students with special education needs and a positive community atmosphere, there are some concerns regarding the depth of knowledge identified in some subjects of the curriculum. Leaders must ensure that in all subjects, the essential knowledge is clearly sequenced, and they need to further evaluate the impact of the curriculum to facilitate consistent learning outcomes across all areas.

Strengths

• Dedicated and caring staff create a nurturing environment for pupils.
• Effective support for early reading through a well-sequenced phonics curriculum.
• Strong identification and support for pupils with special educational needs.
• Pupils demonstrate positive behavior and understanding of respect and choices.
• Parents report high satisfaction with the school community and staff.

Areas for Improvement

• Some subjects lack a clear identification of essential knowledge needed for progression.
• Leaders do not consistently evaluate the impact of the curriculum across all 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 Roundswell Community Primary Academy attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.3% 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, 2.7% of pupils at Roundswell Community Primary Academy 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 Roundswell Community Primary Academy had 23.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.6% 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, 7.5% of pupils at Roundswell Community Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.5% 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 2023–24 Roundswell Community Primary Academy received £6,168 and spent £5,879 for each of its 260 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £485,000 (£1,866 per pupil).

Across all 29 schools of The Harbour Schools Partnership, income was £6,848 and spending £6,935 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 Barnstaple · Devon local authority: places and applications

Roundswell Community Primary Academy is part of The Harbour Schools Partnership, which runs 36 schools. The nearest others:

• Sticklepath Community Primary Academy Barnstaple
• Fremington Primary School Barnstaple
• Holywell Church of England School Barnstaple
• Pilton Community College Barnstaple
• The Park Community School Barnstaple
• Ashleigh CofE Primary School Barnstaple
• Newport Community School Primary Academy Barnstaple
• Eden Park Academy Barnstaple
• Orchard Vale Community School Barnstaple
• Landkey Community Primary Academy Barnstaple

What is Roundswell Community Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Roundswell Community Primary Academy is Good, from an inspection in July 2023.

When was Roundswell Community Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Roundswell Community Primary Academy was last inspected in July 2023.

How many pupils does Roundswell Community Primary Academy have?

Roundswell Community Primary Academy has 345 pupils on roll.

What age range does Roundswell Community Primary Academy cover?

Roundswell Community Primary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

Where is Roundswell Community Primary Academy?

Roundswell Community Primary Academy is at Roundswell School, Claypits Road, Roundswell, Barnstaple, Devon, EX31 3WJ.