St Mary's Church of England Primary School

St Mary’s Church of England Primary School is performing well overall. Personal development is a standout strength, with an exceptional programme that develops pupils’ character, understanding of equality and leadership roles. Pupils are happy, safe and well cared for, behaviour is calm and purposeful, reading is at the heart of the curriculum, and children get a strong start in the early years. The school is ambitious for pupils, including those with SEND, and attendance has improved through effective work with families. Safeguarding is effective. The main areas for improvement are in some wider curriculum subjects. Teaching does not consistently help pupils remember what they have learned over the longer term, and teachers do not systematically check prior knowledge, so some pupils develop gaps. In addition, some activities chosen by teachers do not help pupils learn the intended curriculum securely, which limits depth of understanding in a few subjects. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first inspection under section 5. The school converted to academy status in 2019 and is part of The Partnership Trust; its predecessor school had been judged to require improvement. The trust provides effective support and challenge, including for mathematics, and governors and trustees share leaders’ ambition.

Strengths

• Exceptional personal development programme focused on character and equality
• Strong reading curriculum with expert early reading teaching
• Early identification and effective support for pupils with SEND
• Ambitious and well-structured curriculum from Nursery to Year 6
• Effective mathematics improvement supported by the trust
• Calm and purposeful classrooms with positive pupil behaviour
• Effective action to improve attendance
• Broad enrichment opportunities and meaningful pupil leadership roles
• Strong governance and trust support with appropriate challenge

Areas for Improvement

• In a few wider curriculum subjects, teaching does not help pupils retain knowledge long term
• Teachers do not systematically check what pupils have learned previously
• Some pupils have gaps in knowledge in some wider curriculum subjects
• Some learning activities do not enable pupils to learn the intended curriculum
• Some pupils do not secure sufficient depth of understanding in a few subjects

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 Primary School attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.8% 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, 0.6% of pupils at St Mary's 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 St Mary's Church of England Primary School had 22.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.8% 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 Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.5% 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 Primary School received £7,512 and spent £7,640 for each of its 157 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £289,000 (£1,839 per pupil).

Across all 17 schools of The Partnership Trust, income was £9,672 and spending £9,897 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 Radstock · Bath and North East Somerset local authority: places and applications

St Mary's Church of England Primary School is part of The Partnership Trust, which runs 17 schools. The nearest others:

• Fosse Way School Bath
• Paulton Infant School Bristol
• Farmborough Church Primary School Bath
• Cameley CEVC Primary School Bristol
• Marksbury CofE Primary School Bath
• Roundhill Primary School Bath
• Moorlands Junior School Bath
• Moorlands Infant School Bath
• Nunney First School Frome
• Hayesdown First School Frome

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

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

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

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

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

St Mary's Church of England Primary School has 165 pupils on roll.

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

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

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

In 2025, 42% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Mary's Church of England Primary School?

St Mary's Church of England Primary School is at Old Road, Writhlington, Radstock, Somerset, BA3 3NG.