St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Sandhurst

St Michael's Church of England Primary School is a small Church of England primary in Sandhurst and part of The Keys Academy Trust. Inspectors found it performing strongly overall, with a particularly strong early years provision, above-average published outcomes, and attendance that is a clear strength. Pupils are described as proud, welcoming and well behaved, and they benefit from a calm, orderly environment where reading and phonics are prioritised from Reception. Leadership and governance are effective, with leaders accurately identifying priorities and trustees providing useful support and challenge. Inclusion is generally well led, and disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND typically receive the support they need. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils feel safe and know staff will deal with concerns quickly. The main areas for improvement concern consistency and precision. Inclusive strategies are not yet applied consistently enough, and some teachers' adaptations to learning tasks are not closely matched to pupils' needs. Leaders also want to strengthen the wider curriculum so that pupils develop more detailed subject knowledge and produce higher-quality work.

Strengths

• Early years provision is strong and gives children a very positive start.
• Children benefit from a highly effective curriculum and high-quality learning activities.
• Adults prioritise high-quality interactions and model sounds precisely, developing strong oracy.
• Staff know children well and identify additional needs early through effective transition and parent partnerships.
• The proportion of children achieving a good level of development is above the national average.
• Pupils achieve well in national assessments, with outcomes above average.
• Reading is prioritised and phonics is taught effectively from the start of Reception.
• Pupils with SEND and other barriers to learning generally receive suitable support.
• Attendance is above the national average for all pupils, including those with SEND.
• Pupils arrive punctually, behave positively and bullying is rare.
• The curriculum is broad, progressive and sequenced to build knowledge over time.
• Teachers generally have secure subject knowledge and explain new learning clearly.
• Leaders identify pupils with additional barriers accurately and use funding effectively for disadvantaged pupils.
• Governance is effective, with trustees and local governors providing support and challenge.
• Staff value professional learning opportunities and leaders' support for workload and wellbeing.
• The personal development programme is broad and includes safety education, pupil leadership and extra-curricular activities.

Areas for Improvement

• Inclusive strategies are not yet implemented systematically and consistently across the school.
• Some teachers' adaptations to learning tasks lack precision and are not well matched to pupils' needs.
• The broader curriculum could be strengthened so pupils develop more detailed subject knowledge and produce higher-quality work.
• The personal development programme could develop pupils' understanding in more detail.

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 Michael's Church of England Primary School, Sandhurst attended 96.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.5% 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, 0.0% of pupils at St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Sandhurst 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 Michael's Church of England Primary School, Sandhurst had 25.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 38.5% 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, 6.0% of pupils at St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Sandhurst were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.0% 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 Michael's Church of England Primary School, Sandhurst received £6,570 and spent £6,334 for each of its 203 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,000 (£6 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of The Keys Academy Trust, income was £6,910 and spending £6,798 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 Sandhurst · Bracknell Forest local authority: places and applications

St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Sandhurst is part of The Keys Academy Trust, which runs 13 schools. The nearest others:

• Uplands Primary School and Nursery Sandhurst
• Saint Sebastians Church of England Primary School and Nursery Wokingham
• The Coombes Church of England Primary School Reading
• St Cecilia's CofE Primary School Wokingham
• Alder Grove Church of England Primary School Shinfield
• St Nicholas Church of England Primary, Hurst Wokingham
• Earley St Peter's Church of England Primary School Reading
• Grazeley Church of England Primary School Reading
• Sonning Church of England Primary School Reading
• Polehampton Church of England Infant and Nursery School Reading

What is St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Sandhurst's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Sandhurst is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Sandhurst last inspected by Ofsted?

St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Sandhurst was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Sandhurst have?

St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Sandhurst has 199 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Sandhurst cover?

St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Sandhurst for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 90% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Sandhurst?

St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Sandhurst is at Lower Church Road, Sandhurst, Berkshire, GU47 8HN.