St Mary's Church of England School

St Mary’s Church of England School is a happy, caring and ambitious primary school where pupils are polite, welcoming and well behaved. Inspectors found that the school has reviewed and refined its curriculum, with particularly strong work in reading and mathematics, and that pupils achieve well and are prepared for their next stage of education. Personal development, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and early years provision are all secure, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school benefits from strong trust support, and staff morale is high. This was the school’s first routine section 5 inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has not previously been inspected under section 5, although its predecessor school was judged good. The school is an academy within the Oxford Diocesan Bucks Schools Trust, and the headteacher has been in post since September 2023. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are known well and achieve well at the end of key stage 2. There are still areas to strengthen. A few wider curriculum subjects are at an earlier stage of development, so pupils do not consistently build a secure and deep understanding over time. Checks on pupils’ learning are not always sharp enough to identify and address gaps swiftly, and checks on the effectiveness of support for pupils with SEND are inconsistent, meaning provision is not always precisely targeted. The school is aware of these issues and has appropriate plans in place.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, polite and welcoming in a nurturing school community
• The school is ambitious for all pupils and staff want the best for every child
• The curriculum has been reviewed and refined and captures pupils’ interests
• Mathematics is well structured, with content broken into small steps
• Reading is prioritised from the early years and a love of reading is encouraged
• Phonics is delivered with expertise and pupils’ books match their learning
• Pupils with SEND are known well and achieve well at the end of key stage 2
• Pupils behave well and positive relationships support concentration and enjoyment
• Personal development is effective, including respect for diversity and leadership opportunities
• A wide range of clubs, trips and visits enhances the curriculum
• The trust offers strong support, challenge and guidance
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• A few wider curriculum subjects are not sufficiently well designed for pupils to build consistently on prior learning
• Checks on pupils’ learning are not consistently strong enough to identify and address gaps swiftly
• Checks on the effectiveness of SEND support are not consistently in place
• Provision for pupils with SEND is not always precisely targeted to individual needs

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 Church of England School attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.6% 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, 2.9% of pupils at St Mary's Church of England 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 Church of England School had 24.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.6% 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, 13.2% of pupils at St Mary's Church of England School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.7% 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 Church of England School received £5,858 and spent £5,872 for each of its 442 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £697,000 (£1,579 per pupil).

Across all 14 schools of Oxford Diocesan Bucks Schools Trust, income was £7,077 and spending £7,224 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 Aylesbury · Buckinghamshire local authority: places and applications

St Mary's Church of England School is part of Oxford Diocesan Bucks Schools Trust, which runs 15 schools. The nearest others:

• Longwick Church of England Combined School Princes Risborough
• St John's Church of England Primary School, Lacey Green Princes Risborough
• Great Horwood Church of England School Milton Keynes
• Padbury Church of England School Buckingham
• Chiltern Hills Academy Chesham
• Elmtree Infant and Nursery School Chesham
• The Downley School High Wycombe
• Thomas Harding Junior School Chesham
• Curzon Church of England Combined School Amersham
• Chesham Bois Church of England School Amersham

What is St Mary's Church of England School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary's Church of England School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was St Mary's Church of England School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mary's Church of England School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does St Mary's Church of England School have?

St Mary's Church of England School has 448 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mary's Church of England School cover?

St Mary's Church of England School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Mary's Church of England School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 57% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Mary's Church of England School?

St Mary's Church of England School is at Keen Close, Fairford Leys, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP19 7WF.