Broad Chalke CofE Primary School

Broad Chalke C of E Primary School is a happy, welcoming school at the heart of its rural community, and it is performing well across the areas inspected. This was its first section 5 inspection, following conversion to academy status in December 2023 as part of the Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust, and no overall effectiveness grade is awarded under current arrangements. The inspection found good provision in quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years. Pupils are calm and polite, attendance is high, staff act quickly on concerns, and safeguarding is effective. Parents are largely positive and describe a dedicated, nurturing school. Leaders have built an ambitious curriculum with strong trust support and clear governance. Pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics by the time they leave, benefit from a strong reading and oracy focus, and receive quick, personalised support for SEND. The personal development programme is well structured, with assemblies, trips, charity work, pupil leadership and a wide range of clubs. Staff value training, collaboration and workload support. The main areas for improvement are curriculum connections and reading fluency. In a few recently refined subjects, links to pupils’ prior learning are not explicit enough, so pupils’ depth of knowledge varies over time. The school also does not yet have a fully embedded approach to teaching reading fluency, meaning some weaker readers do not read as fluently or expressively as they could.

Strengths

• Happy, welcoming school at the heart of its rural community
• School values of respect, resilience, hope and love are woven through daily life
• Pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics by the time they leave
• Classrooms are typically calm and pupils behave sensibly
• Pupils trust staff to act quickly and effectively on concerns
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Ambitious and engaging curriculum with secure subject knowledge and consistent teaching approaches
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and receive personalised support alongside peers
• Strong reading culture and oracy focus, with high-quality books and mature pupil discussion
• Clearly structured phonics programme with ongoing checks and extra help
• High attendance
• Well-structured personal development programme, including assemblies, trips, charity work, democracy and clubs
• Effective trust support and challenge, clear governance, and positive staff views on training, workload and well-being
• Early years provision is strong, with children building simple maps and developing communication and language

Areas for Improvement

• In a few recently refined subjects, links to pupils’ prior learning are not explicit enough, so pupils’ depth of knowledge varies over time
• Reading fluency is not fully embedded, so some weaker readers do not read as fluently or expressively as they could

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 Broad Chalke CofE Primary School attended 96.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.5% 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, 1.0% of pupils at Broad Chalke CofE 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 Broad Chalke CofE Primary School had 22.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.6% 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, 18.0% of pupils at Broad Chalke CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.2% 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 Broad Chalke CofE Primary School received £6,482 and spent £6,722 for each of its 199 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £65,000 (£325 per pupil).

Across all 28 schools of Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust, income was £7,549 and spending £7,556 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 Salisbury · Wiltshire local authority: places and applications

Broad Chalke CofE Primary School is part of Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust, which runs 28 schools. The nearest others:

• Wilton CofE Primary School Salisbury
• St. Peter's CE Primary Academy Salisbury
• St Martin's CofE Primary School Salisbury
• Cranborne Church of England First School Wimborne
• Wimborne St Giles Church of England First School and Nursery Wimborne
• Trinity Church of England First School Verwood
• St Nicholas Church of England Primary School Salisbury
• Shrewton CofE Primary School Salisbury
• St James Church of England First School Wimborne
• Archbishop Wake Church of England Primary School Blandford Forum

What is Broad Chalke CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Broad Chalke CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Broad Chalke CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Broad Chalke CofE Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Broad Chalke CofE Primary School have?

Broad Chalke CofE Primary School has 189 pupils on roll.

What age range does Broad Chalke CofE Primary School cover?

Broad Chalke CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Broad Chalke CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 59% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Broad Chalke CofE Primary School?

Broad Chalke CofE Primary School is at Newtown, Broad Chalke, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP5 5DS.