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Buckland St Mary Church of England Primary School

Primary · Chard · TA20 3SJ

Data updated

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Requires improvement

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: Requires improvementBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: Requires improvementSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 12 October 2021

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

54 pupils · 60% of 90 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy sponsor led
Age range
2–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Free school meals
9.6% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
1.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
12.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
www.bucklandstmarycofeprimary.org
URN
150638

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 3 families named it first for 3 Reception places, 1.00 first choices per place. Ofsted last graded it Requires improvement on 12 October 2021, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 3.6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

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

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
71%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
0%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
106
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
103
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 school71%
Median of its 12 closest peers57%
Somerset average60.5%
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
Worlaby AcademyBrigg · 216 miles awayGood73%
Chilmark and Fonthill Bishop Church of England Aided Primary SchoolSalisbury · 45 miles awayGood50%
Foston Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolYork · 235 miles awayGood43%
Paulerspury Church of England Primary SchoolTowcester · 122 miles awayGood33%
Kentisbury Primary SchoolBarnstaple · 44 miles awayGood50%
Earsham Church of England Primary AcademyNr Bungay · 218 miles awayGood73%
Northchapel Community Primary SchoolPetworth · 105 miles awayGood67%
Bulphan Church of England AcademyBulphan · 153 miles awayGood57%
Norton Sub Hamdon Church SchoolStoke-Sub-Hamdon · 12 miles awayRequires improvement57%
Dunton Bassett Primary SchoolLutterworth · 135 miles awayGood50%
Great Paxton CofE Primary SchoolSt Neots · 152 miles awayGood65%
Abbey Village Primary SchoolChorley · 193 miles awayGood80%

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 87% (Somerset 81%, England 60%) · Not recorded 9% (Somerset 2%, England 1%) · Any other Asian background 4% (Somerset 1%, England 2%)

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)
3.6%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
5.4%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

0.00 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Somerset: 3.60 suspensions and 0.04 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
15.6
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, primary academies: 0.3% vacant, 0.32% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

0% of teachers took sickness absence, 0 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 £51,128; 20% 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 (2024-25)

This school£9,025
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 70% (77%) · premises 4% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 18% (8%) · supplies and services 8% (9%) · educational supplies 5% (4%) · bought-in professional services 1% (2%) · catering 5% (5%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £0; in-year balance +£43,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
5/10around the middle for England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher35.8%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications15.3%18.1%
In managerial or professional work38.4%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways10.7%18.1%
Residents in very good health45.2%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier80.2%62.3%
Social housing6.2%17.1%
Privately rented13.6%20.5%
Detached houses63.9%22.9%
Flats3%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms33.4%21.1%
Households with no car or van5.6%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01029153 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£650,00011 sales within 2 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£512,500–£772,500the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (9)£650,000

Homes around this school are among the dearest tenth of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 2 km across every state school.

Fewer than ten homes sold within 1 km, so the figures use 2 km.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 2 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

No collision was reported to the police within 500 m of the school in 2021–2025.

Child pedestrian casualties
0a rural school averages 0.3
Collisions at school-run times
0a rural school averages 0.7
All reported collisions
0a 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