Spaxton CofE Primary School

Spaxton CofE Primary School is a small, caring and purposeful school where pupils typically learn a broad and ambitious curriculum well. This was its first routine section 5 inspection; it is an academy within Quantock Education Trust and was previously judged outstanding before becoming an academy. Leaders, governance and trust are clear about the school’s strengths and priorities, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. Pupils are happy, attend regularly, behave well and benefit from strong reading provision, positive attitudes and a range of personal development opportunities. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified early and supported well. However, in some subjects pupils do not recall the most important prior knowledge, which makes it harder for them to build learning over time. The revised writing curriculum is still being embedded, and some pupils’ repeated transcription errors are not consistently addressed.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, feel supported by caring staff and know they have trusted adults to turn to.
• The school works effectively to ensure pupils attend regularly.
• Leaders have high expectations and have designed a broad and ambitious curriculum.
• The curriculum considers mixed-age classes well and helps pupils build on prior learning.
• Staff benefit from subject-expert training that develops their knowledge and confidence.
• Pupils with SEND are identified early and get the support they need.
• Reading is prioritised, and pupils are given time to practise sounds and become confident, fluent readers.
• The school promotes a love of reading through a broad range of genres, a well-loved library and reading ambassadors.
• Pupils show positive attitudes to learning and behave well in lessons and around school.
• Personal development is strong, including health, well-being, online safety and opportunities through clubs, competitions and performances.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, pupils struggle to remember the most important prior knowledge, making it harder to build their knowledge securely over time.
• The revised writing curriculum is in its early stages and is not yet consistently embedded.
• Staff do not consistently have a clear picture of the important transcriptional knowledge pupils must learn and by when.
• Some pupils make repeated errors in written work across the curriculum that go unaddressed.

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 Spaxton CofE Primary School attended 96.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.8% 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, 2.1% of pupils at Spaxton 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 Spaxton CofE Primary School had 18.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 25.0% 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, 21.6% of pupils at Spaxton 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 Spaxton CofE Primary School received £10,058 and spent £10,527 for each of its 47 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £57,000 (£1,212 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Quantock Education Trust, income was £8,683 and spending £8,668 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 Bridgwater · Somerset local authority: places and applications

Spaxton CofE Primary School is part of Quantock Education Trust, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• Haygrove School Bridgwater
• Stogursey Church of England Primary School Bridgwater
• Merriott Primary School Merriott
• Ashlands Church of England Primary School Crewkerne
• St Bartholomew's Church of England Primary School Crewkerne
• Haselbury Plucknett Church of England Primary School Crewkerne
• Sexey's School Bruton

What is Spaxton CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Spaxton CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Spaxton CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Spaxton CofE Primary School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Spaxton CofE Primary School have?

Spaxton CofE Primary School has 51 pupils on roll.

What age range does Spaxton CofE Primary School cover?

Spaxton CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 36% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Spaxton CofE Primary School?

Spaxton CofE Primary School is at High Street, Spaxton, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA5 1BS.