Charlbury Primary School

Charlbury Primary School is performing well overall, demonstrating a good quality of education and positive behaviour among its pupils. The school's leadership, under Headteacher Charlie Barwell, is ambitious and committed to the personal and academic development of every child. They emphasize kindness, respect, and individual strengths, fostering a supportive environment that encourages student engagement and readiness for future learning. Notably, this was the school's first inspection since becoming an academy in 2019, which adds significant context to its current performance evaluation.

Strengths

• Highly ambitious leadership focused on pupil development
• Strong emphasis on reading and literacy from an early age
• Supportive and inclusive environment for all pupils
• Engaging curriculum that fosters curiosity and creativity
• Effective safeguarding arrangements in place

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils have gaps in their knowledge due to inconsistent assessment practices

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 Charlbury Primary School attended 96.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.2% 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, 1.2% of pupils at Charlbury 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 Charlbury Primary School had 19.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.6% 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, 19.4% of pupils at Charlbury Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.4% 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 Charlbury Primary School received £7,415 and spent £6,981 for each of its 173 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £14,000 (£79 per pupil).

Across all 30 schools of River Learning Trust, income was £8,007 and spending £7,763 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 West Oxfordshire · Oxfordshire local authority: places and applications

Charlbury Primary School is part of River Learning Trust, which runs 30 schools. The nearest others:

• Witney Community Primary School Witney
• Chipping Norton School Chipping Norton
• Madley Brook Community Primary School Witney
• Tower Hill Community Primary School Witney
• The Marlborough Church of England School Woodstock
• Middle Barton Primary School Chipping Norton
• Windrush Church of England Primary School Witney
• Gosford Hill School Kidlington
• Edward Feild Primary School Kidlington
• Edith Moorhouse Primary School Carterton

What is Charlbury Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Charlbury Primary School is Good, from an inspection in May 2024.

When was Charlbury Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Charlbury Primary School was last inspected in May 2024.

How many pupils does Charlbury Primary School have?

Charlbury Primary School has 160 pupils on roll.

What age range does Charlbury Primary School cover?

Charlbury Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Charlbury Primary School?

Charlbury Primary School is at Crawborough, Charlbury, Oxfordshire, OX7 3TX.