St Barnabas Church of England Primary School

St Barnabas Church of England Primary School is a 231-pupil church school in The Leaf Trust that has been through a turbulent period of staffing change since joining the trust in 2023. Safeguarding requirements are met. Early years, inclusion and personal development are the strongest aspects: children benefit from an ambitious, well-adapted curriculum; pupils with SEND are accurately identified and well supported; and pastoral care, values education, reading, trips and community activities are positive features. Leadership and governance are now more stable, and the trust has provided significant support, with improvements emerging in phonics, early writing and mathematics. However, the school is not yet meeting expected standards in several key areas. Achievement at the end of key stage 2 is below national in combined reading, writing and mathematics, and too many pupils begin secondary school with gaps. Attendance remains below national, a minority of pupils are persistently absent, and behaviour concerns persist, including disruption by a minority and an increase in suspensions. Teaching is inconsistent across the curriculum, assessment is not used sharply enough to address misconceptions or extend high attainers, and wider curriculum work does not always deepen pupils' knowledge. Leaders know what needs to improve and have taken appropriate action, but impact is still developing.

Strengths

• Ambitious early years curriculum is carefully planned and adapted from nursery through Reception.
• Children thrive in early years because routines, vocabulary modelling and personal development support are strong.
• Pupils with SEND are well supported, including those with EHC plans and pre-verbal children.
• Inclusion work accurately identifies needs and removes barriers to learning.
• Pastoral care is a strength, and pupils feel safe with trusted adults to turn to.
• Pupils understand and demonstrate the school values of ambition, compassion and resilience.
• The school promotes cultural awareness through speakers, trips, leadership roles and community involvement.
• Reading is successfully promoted, with pupils enjoying carefully selected books in the library.
• Phonics teaching is effective, and most Year 1 pupils pass the phonics screening check.
• Trustees and governors know the school well, fulfil statutory duties and provide robust challenge and support.
• Staff typically feel well supported, and professional learning is developed through trust networks and qualifications.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' achievement at the end of key stage 2 is below the national average in combined reading, writing and mathematics.
• Too many pupils leave key stage 2 with gaps in their knowledge as they start secondary school.
• Leaders must continue robustly monitoring the writing curriculum so all pupils improve writing fluency and accuracy.
• Work in wider curriculum subjects does not consistently enable pupils to deepen their thinking or develop detailed knowledge.
• Teachers do not consistently check understanding, address misconceptions or extend high prior attaining pupils.
• Poor behaviour from a minority of pupils continues to disrupt learning and playtimes.
• Suspensions have increased, and overall attendance remains below the national average.
• A minority of pupils remain persistently absent despite ongoing work with families.
• Staffing instability has led to inconsistent teaching quality across the school.
• The personal development curriculum is not implemented consistently enough for pupils to remember all learning.
• Leaders need to rebuild trust and confidence with some parents.

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 Barnabas Church of England Primary School attended 94.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.2% 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, 1.7% of pupils at St Barnabas 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 Barnabas Church of England Primary School had 23.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 14.8% of pupils at St Barnabas Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.7% 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 Barnabas Church of England Primary School received £7,149 and spent £6,988 for each of its 231 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £45,000 (£196 per pupil).

Across all 14 schools of The Leaf Trust, income was £6,841 and spending £6,882 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 Bristol · South Gloucestershire local authority: places and applications

St Barnabas Church of England Primary School is part of The Leaf Trust, which runs 18 schools. The nearest others:

• Cadbury Heath Primary School Bristol
• Kings' Forest Primary School Bristol
• Hanham Abbots Junior School Bristol
• Samuel White's Infant School Bristol
• Two Mile Hill Primary School Bristol
• The Tynings Primary School Staple Hill
• Mangotsfield Church of England Primary School Bristol
• Staple Hill Primary School Bristol
• Emersons Green Primary School Bristol
• Stanbridge Primary School Bristol

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

The latest Ofsted rating for St Barnabas Church of England Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was St Barnabas Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Barnabas Church of England Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does St Barnabas Church of England Primary School have?

St Barnabas Church of England Primary School has 229 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Barnabas Church of England Primary School cover?

St Barnabas Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 46% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Barnabas Church of England Primary School?

St Barnabas Church of England Primary School is at Poplar Close, Warmley, Bristol, BS30 5NW.