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Theale C.E. Primary School

Primary · Reading · RG7 5AS

Data updated

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Outstanding

SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection

We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →

Quality of education: OutstandingBehaviour & attitudes: OutstandingPersonal development: OutstandingLeadership & management: OutstandingSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 26 November 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

301 pupils · 88% of 341 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Voluntary controlled school
Age range
4–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Free school meals
20.6% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
9.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
13.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
6.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
thealeprimary.co.uk
URN
109980

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 33 families named it first for 35 Reception places, 0.94 first choices per place. We hold one Reception admissions round for it, 2026 entry, and it was not decided by a published distance. At its inspection on 26 November 2024 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Outstanding. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 4.6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

0.94 first-choice applications per place

35 places offered · 33 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

How safe is a place here? Check your postcode

One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2026, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

44 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
89%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
30%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
110
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
109
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school89%
Median of its 12 closest peers61.5%
West Berkshire average57.3%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
Water Orton Primary SchoolBirmingham · 79 miles awayNeeds attention40%
Boldmere Junior SchoolSutton Coldfield · 83 miles awayGood66%
Stanton Road Primary SchoolWirral · 155 miles awayExpected standard52%
Knaresborough St John's Church of England Primary SchoolKnaresborough · 178 miles awayGood71%
Haddenham Community Junior SchoolAylesbury · 24 miles awayGood54%
Puss Bank School and NurseryMacclesfield · 133 miles awayExpected standard69%
Burraton Community Primary SchoolSaltash · 155 miles awayGood63%
Oldfield Park Junior SchoolBath · 56 miles awayNo current grade63%
Locking Primary SchoolWeston-Super-Mare · 79 miles awayExpected standard57%
Oldbury Park Primary SchoolWorcester · 72 miles awayGood60%
Handforth Grange Primary SchoolWilmslow · 141 miles awayOutstanding74%
Windmill Primary SchoolWellingborough · 67 miles awayRequires improvement39%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Special educational needs

Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.

Provision type: Resourced provision.

Resourced provision
11 of 12 places taken nearly full

Unit places come from the school census and describe the position when it was taken, not today. Confirm with the local authority before relying on them.

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 74% (West Berkshire 74%, England 60%) · Any other White background 4% (West Berkshire 6%, England 7%) · Asian Indian 4% (West Berkshire 4%, England 4%) · Any other Asian background 3% (West Berkshire 1%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 3% (West Berkshire 2%, England 3%) · Any other ethnic group 2% (West Berkshire 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (West Berkshire 2%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (West Berkshire 2%, England 2%) · Asian Chinese 1% (West Berkshire 1%, England 1%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (West Berkshire 1%, England 5%) · Any other Black background 1% (West Berkshire 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (West Berkshire 1%, England 1%) · Not recorded 1% (West Berkshire 1%, England 1%) · other groups together 1%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
4.6%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
11.2%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

4.21 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · West Berkshire: 3.40 suspensions and 0.05 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
18.6
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

76% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 13% moved to another state school · 11% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained primaries: 0.18% vacant, 0.36% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

70.4% of teachers took sickness absence, 6.2 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £48,834; 12.5% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£8,195
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 78% (76%) · premises 4% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 9% (8%) · supplies and services 7% (9%) · educational supplies 2% (4%) · bought-in professional services 4% (3%) · catering 3% (5%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve -£74,972; in-year balance +£132,791

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
6/10around the middle for England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher30%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications20.5%18.1%
In managerial or professional work35.4%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways21.3%18.1%
Residents in very good health44%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier49.2%62.3%
Social housing35.3%17.1%
Privately rented15.5%20.5%
Detached houses13%22.9%
Flats38.6%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms11.1%21.1%
Households with no car or van22.3%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01016344 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£335,000122 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£261,000–£410,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (12)£600,000
Semi-detached (37)£388,000
Terraced (35)£335,000
Flat (38)£242,000

Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
0a rural school averages 0.3
Collisions at school-run times
1a rural school averages 0.7
All reported collisions
1a rural school averages 3.4
Of those, serious or fatal
0a rural school averages 0.9

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools