St Mary's & St Peter's Church School

St Mary’s & St Peter’s Church School is a small, inclusive church primary in the Bath and Wells Multi Academy Trust. This was its first routine section 5 inspection, and inspectors found it performing well across the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years. Pupils are happy, polite and calm, relationships with adults are strong, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school has a broad and ambitious curriculum, with particularly secure foundations in reading and mathematics. Phonics is taught well from the start, pupils who need help catch up quickly, and pupils with SEND progress well because adults adapt work and provide support. Behaviour is a strength, attendance is improving through persistent work with families, and pupils benefit from enrichment, responsibilities and a strong personal, social and health education programme. The main areas for improvement are the wider curriculum and pupils’ understanding of diversity. In some subjects, knowledge is not built sequentially and assessment is not used well enough to identify gaps, so pupils do not remember as much as they should. Pupils also have a limited understanding of world faiths and cultures, which leaves them less well prepared for aspects of multicultural Britain. The trust and local governors are aware of these priorities and share leaders’ ambition.

Strengths

• Inclusive, welcoming school with high expectations and a calm, purposeful environment
• Pupils demonstrate courage, kindness and respect and behave well
• Strong, caring relationships help pupils feel safe and listened to
• Broad and ambitious curriculum with secure reading and mathematics foundations
• Effective phonics teaching from Reception with swift support for pupils who need it
• Pupils with SEND progress well through adapted work and adult support
• Attendance is improving through close work with families and external agencies
• Enrichment opportunities and pupil responsibilities build responsible citizens
• Personal, social and health education develops pupils’ understanding of wellbeing, relationships and safety
• Effective safeguarding arrangements and a positive safeguarding culture
• Local governors and trustees share leaders’ ambition and monitor teaching and learning

Areas for Improvement

• Some wider curriculum subjects are less developed, with knowledge not built sequentially
• Assessment is not used effectively to identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge and remember
• Pupils have a limited understanding of world faiths and different cultures, leaving them less prepared for multicultural Britain

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 St Mary's & St Peter's Church School attended 89.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 41.5% 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, 8.3% of pupils at St Mary's & St Peter's Church 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 St Mary's & St Peter's Church School had 8.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 62.5% 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, 34.5% of pupils at St Mary's & St Peter's Church 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 St Mary's & St Peter's Church School received £12,444 and spent £11,412 for each of its 38 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £124,000 (£3,256 per pupil).

Across all 45 schools of The Bath and Wells Diocesan Academies Trust, income was £7,160 and spending £7,193 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 Ilminster · Somerset local authority: places and applications

St Mary's & St Peter's Church School is part of The Bath and Wells Diocesan Academies Trust, which runs 46 schools. The nearest others:

• Shepton Beauchamp Church School Ilminster
• Martock Church School Martock
• Norton Sub Hamdon Church School Stoke-Sub-Hamdon
• West Chinnock Church School Crewkerne
• St James Church School Taunton
• All Saints Church School Yeovil
• St Andrew's Church School Taunton
• Cheddon Fitzpaine Church School Taunton
• Staplegrove Church School Taunton
• Norton Fitzwarren Church School Taunton

What is St Mary's & St Peter's Church School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary's & St Peter's Church School is Good, from an inspection in October 2024.

When was St Mary's & St Peter's Church School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mary's & St Peter's Church School was last inspected in October 2024.

How many pupils does St Mary's & St Peter's Church School have?

St Mary's & St Peter's Church School has 29 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mary's & St Peter's Church School cover?

St Mary's & St Peter's Church School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

Where is St Mary's & St Peter's Church School?

St Mary's & St Peter's Church School is at Copse Lane, Ilton, Ilminster, Somerset, TA19 9EX.