St Germans Primary School

St Germans Primary School is a small, rapidly improving school within St Barnabas Trust. Leaders have transformed the school's culture and quality of education, with early years provision, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing all judged strong. Children benefit from a high-quality early years start, reading and phonics are prioritised, and the curriculum is well designed for mixed-age classes. Pupils are happy, safe and attend well, and outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics are above national averages, including for many disadvantaged pupils. Safeguarding standards are met. Most other areas are at the expected standard. Achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, and inclusion are secure, with effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils, especially those facing the greatest barriers. However, provision is not yet consistently strong across the wider curriculum: expectations for written work and the quality of work in some subjects vary, and some pupils do not sustain engagement with further challenge. Leaders' next steps focus on making progress monitoring for all pupils with barriers more rigorous, raising expectations across all subjects, especially writing accuracy, and building pupils' enthusiasm, self-discipline and aspirations. This was a full section 5 inspection. The school has 55 pupils and a well-above-average proportion of pupils with education, health and care plans, so its inclusive work and small mixed-age structure are significant features of its context.

Strengths

• High-quality early years provision with a well-sequenced curriculum and strong knowledge of child development.
• Ambitious, relentless leadership, including from the trust, that has transformed school culture and rebuilt morale.
• Strong governance and trust support with robust accountability and investment in staff expertise.
• A well-planned personal development curriculum that develops pupils' health, relationships, safety and understanding of British values.
• A rich programme of trips, outdoor experiences, creative and sporting opportunities that broadens pupils' horizons.
• Strong pastoral care and effective work with families.
• Pupils achieve well in national tests, with many performing above national averages, including disadvantaged pupils.
• Reading and phonics are prioritised and taught systematically.
• Mathematics and writing are taught consistently well, with clear small-step structures.
• Effective inclusion systems and precise support for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, particularly the most vulnerable.
• Positive behaviour and a respectful culture, with low persistent absence and attendance in line with the national average.
• Pupils are happy, feel safe and value being part of the school community.
• Safeguarding standards are met.

Areas for Improvement

• Monitoring of progress for pupils facing any barriers to learning is not yet rigorous enough to ensure their needs are swiftly and effectively addressed.
• Teachers' expectations and the quality of written work are inconsistent across the wider curriculum, especially in writing accuracy.
• Some pupils do not pursue further challenge and become less engaged once they finish a task.
• Pupils' enthusiasm for learning, aspirations and self-discipline need further development.

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 Germans Primary School attended 95.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.3% 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 Germans 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 Germans Primary School had 13.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 28.6% 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, 4.9% of pupils at St Germans Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.9% 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 Germans Primary School received £11,915 and spent £12,094 for each of its 53 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £74,000 (£1,397 per pupil).

Across all 14 schools of St Barnabas Church of England Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,530 and spending £7,406 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 Saltash · Cornwall local authority: places and applications

St Germans Primary School is part of St Barnabas Church of England Multi Academy Trust, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• St Nicolas' CofE VA School, Downderry Torpoint
• Antony Church of England School Torpoint
• Millbrook CofE Primary School Torpoint
• Quethiock CofE School Liskeard
• St Mellion Church of England Primary School Saltash
• St Dominic CofE Primary School Saltash
• St Martin's CofE Primary School Liskeard
• Braddock CofE Primary School Liskeard
• Lerryn CofE Primary School Lostwithiel
• St Winnow CofE School

What is St Germans Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Germans Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was St Germans Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Germans Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does St Germans Primary School have?

St Germans Primary School has 41 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Germans Primary School cover?

St Germans Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Germans Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 79% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Germans Primary School?

St Germans Primary School is at Lower Fairfield, St Germans, Saltash, Cornwall, PL12 5NJ.