Fairlands Middle School

Fairlands Middle School is a happy, inclusive school where pupils feel safe and well supported, and inspectors found the school performing well across the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. The school opened in 2020 as part of the Wessex Learning Trust and had not previously been inspected under section 5; a new headteacher joined in September 2024. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The curriculum is broad, logically ordered and ambitious, and recent improvements are now helping pupils know and remember more, despite published key stage 2 outcomes having been inconsistent historically. Teachers have strong subject knowledge, pupils with SEND are accurately identified and supported, and the reading curriculum is a notable strength. Behaviour has improved following raised expectations, suspensions have reduced significantly, and pupils benefit from a wide range of clubs, careers activities and personal development opportunities. Leadership has a clear vision and has created greater consistency across the school. There are still areas to address. Sometimes teachers’ explanations and instructions are not clear enough for pupils to learn all that is intended, and a minority of pupils occasionally disrupt learning. A minority also use discriminatory language, particularly homophobic language, which makes their peers uncomfortable; the school deals with incidents promptly but needs to strengthen the curriculum further so all pupils understand and use acceptable language. Overall, the school has a strong foundation and is moving in the right direction.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, safe and well supported
• High aspirations and an ambitious curriculum
• Recent curriculum improvements have strengthened pupils’ recall and readiness for next steps
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge
• Pupils with SEND are accurately identified and learning is adapted for them
• The reading curriculum develops vocabulary, fluency and comprehension
• Pupils who struggle with reading are identified promptly and supported to catch up
• Raised behaviour expectations have led to better behaviour and fewer suspensions
• A wide range of clubs and activities is available, with strong take-up
• Careers education and employer encounters help pupils explore future options
• Personal development covers relationships, online safety, mental health and British values
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Communication with families is strong
• Leadership has a clear vision and has created a common sense of purpose

Areas for Improvement

• Teachers’ explanations and instructions are sometimes not clear enough
• Some low-level disruption interrupts learning
• A minority of pupils use discriminatory language, particularly homophobic language
• Published key stage 2 outcomes have historically not been consistently strong
• The curriculum needs further strengthening to ensure all pupils understand and use acceptable language

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 Fairlands Middle School attended 93.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 16.4% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 1.7% of pupils at Fairlands Middle School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 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 Fairlands Middle School had 18.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.8% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 15.6% of pupils at Fairlands Middle School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Fairlands Middle School received £6,881 and spent £6,700 for each of its 411 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £613,000 (£1,491 per pupil).

Across all 22 schools of Wessex Learning Trust, income was £7,524 and spending £7,371 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 Somerset · Somerset local authority: places and applications

Fairlands Middle School is part of Wessex Learning Trust, which runs 23 schools. The nearest others:

• The Kings of Wessex Academy Cheddar
• Cheddar First School Cheddar
• Draycott & Rodney Stoke Church of England First School Draycott
• Axbridge Church of England First School Academy Axbridge
• Shipham Church of England First School Winscombe
• Weare Academy First School Axbridge
• Winscombe Primary School Winscombe
• Wedmore First School Academy Wedmore
• Sandford Primary School Winscombe
• Hugh Sexey Church of England Middle School Wedmore

What is Fairlands Middle School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Fairlands Middle School is Good, from an inspection in October 2024.

When was Fairlands Middle School last inspected by Ofsted?

Fairlands Middle School was last inspected in October 2024.

How many pupils does Fairlands Middle School have?

Fairlands Middle School has 405 pupils on roll.

What age range does Fairlands Middle School cover?

Fairlands Middle School for pupils aged 9 to 13.

What are Fairlands Middle School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 54% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Fairlands Middle School?

Fairlands Middle School is at Masons Way, Cheddar, Somerset, BS27 3PG.