Benson Church of England Primary School

Benson Church of England Primary School is a good school where pupils are happy, safe and well cared for. Inspectors found strong provision across the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years. The school has a broad and ambitious curriculum that is well sequenced from the early years, and reading is a clear priority, with consistent phonics teaching helping pupils become confident and fluent readers. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified accurately and supported effectively, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. Pupils behave well and understand the school’s values, and personal development is a notable strength. The school prioritises resilience, independence and character through ‘5 to thrive’, and pupils learn to support themselves and each other. Attendance is tracked and promoted well, with effective work with families when attendance falls. Governors and the Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust know the school well and provide appropriate challenge and support, and staff benefit from ongoing professional development. There are two main areas for improvement. Expectations of pupils’ engagement are not consistently high, and a minority of pupils become distracted and miss valuable learning. In addition, assessment in some foundation subjects is not used effectively enough to identify pupils’ next steps, meaning some pupils do not remember key knowledge as well as they could. Leaders are aware of this and are taking action, but it is too early to see the full impact.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, safe and well cared for in a nurturing environment.
• Staff know pupils well and listen attentively to their concerns and opinions.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious and well sequenced from the early years onwards.
• Reading is a priority, with consistent and precise phonics teaching that builds fluent readers.
• Pupils with SEND are identified accurately and supported effectively through appropriate targets and adaptations.
• Pupils behave well and understand the school’s values of love, forgiveness, peace and understanding.
• Personal development is a strong focus, building resilience, independence and character through ‘5 to thrive’.
• Attendance is tracked and promoted well, with effective support for families when attendance falls.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Governors and the trust know the school well and provide appropriate challenge and support.
• Staff benefit from ongoing professional development and consistent training.

Areas for Improvement

• Expectations of pupils’ engagement are not consistently high, and a minority of pupils become distracted and miss learning.
• In some foundation subjects, assessment is not used effectively to identify pupils’ next steps.
• Because of weaker assessment in some wider-curriculum subjects, some pupils do not remember key knowledge as well as they could.
• Leaders’ actions to improve assessment are at an early stage, so the impact is not yet evident.

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 Benson Church of England Primary School attended 94.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.6% 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, 0.3% of pupils at Benson Church of England 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 Benson Church of England Primary School had 23.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.6% 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, 10.6% of pupils at Benson Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.6% 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 Benson Church of England Primary School received £5,865 and spent £5,750 for each of its 311 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £325,000 (£1,047 per pupil).

Across all 45 schools of Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust, income was £7,225 and spending £7,175 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 Wallingford · Oxfordshire local authority: places and applications

Benson Church of England Primary School is part of Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust, which runs 46 schools. The nearest others:

• St Laurence Church of England School Wallingford
• Fir Tree Primary School Wallingford
• St Nicholas CofE Primary School , Wallingford Wallingford
• South Moreton Primary School Didcot
• Northbourne Church of England Primary School Didcot
• Blewbury Church of England Primary School Didcot
• Streatley Church of England Primary School Reading
• John Henry Newman Academy Oxford
• Wheatley Church of England Primary School Oxford
• St Francis Church of England Primary School Oxford

What is Benson Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Benson Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Benson Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Benson Church of England Primary School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Benson Church of England Primary School have?

Benson Church of England Primary School has 329 pupils on roll.

What age range does Benson Church of England Primary School cover?

Benson Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Benson Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 34% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Benson Church of England Primary School?

Benson Church of England Primary School is at Oxford Road, Benson, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 6LX.