Ofsted: Good trending_up Places Available emoji_events #95 in Somerset public Top 83% UK

St James Church School

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMr Nigel Johnson

corporate_fareTHE BATH AND WELLS DIOCESAN ACADEMIES TRUST

location_onTaunton, TA1 1XU

language Visit Website phone 1823272553

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2024

groups

Students

485

school

Expected Standard

49%

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

1.0x

summarize

St James Church School is a Academy sponsor led primary school in Taunton, serving ages 3-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Ranks in the top 83% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

St James Church School is an academy sponsor led in Taunton, Somerset, admitting pupils aged 3-11. It is part of THE BATH AND WELLS DIOCESAN ACADEMIES TRUST. The school has approximately 489 pupils on roll, of whom 30% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 49% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 3% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #95 of 148 primaries in Somerset and #10,448 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2024. The school's current overall rating is Good. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Good, behaviour and attitudes Good, personal development Good, and leadership and management Good.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 1.0× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 24.1:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 1.4 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

49%

LA 57%

Reading68% LA 72%

Writing62% LA 69%

Maths66% LA 69%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

101

GPS SS

105

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

43%

LA 55%England 61%

Reading65% LA 72% · Eng 74%

Writing57% LA 68% · Eng 72%

Maths57% LA 67% · Eng 73%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

100

GPS SS

103

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

22%

LA 54%England 60%

Reading44% LA 71% · Eng 73%

Writing39% LA 68% · Eng 71%

Maths36% LA 67% · Eng 73%

Read SS

100

Maths SS

GPS SS

101

Progress (0 = national avg)

-2.1

Read

LA -0.5

-3.9 to -0.2

-2.7

Write

LA -0.4

-4.4 to -1.0

-2.9

Maths

LA -1.4

-4.7 to -1.2

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

69%

LA 60%England 65%

Reading78% LA 70% · Eng 73%

Writing76% LA 75% · Eng 78%

Maths80% LA 73% · Eng 79%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

107

Progress (0 = national avg)

1.2

Read

LA -0.8

-0.5 to 3.0

-0.7

Write

LA -0.4

-2.3 to 0.9

1.3

Maths

LA -1.4

-0.2 to 2.8

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

50%

LA 63%

Reading57% LA 77%

Writing73% LA 78%

Maths70% LA 73%

Read SS

102

Maths SS

103

GPS SS

105

Progress (0 = national avg)

-1.4

Read

LA -0.2

-3.3 to 0.5

-0.8

Write

LA -0.3

-2.6 to 1

Maths

LA -1.0

-1.7 to 1.7

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

26 November 2024

Inspection Report

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04 December 2018

Inspection Report

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19 March 2015

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

4 Evaluations

2024-11-26

S5 Inspection EIF

Not Judged

info

Why no overall grade?

From autumn 2024, Ofsted stopped issuing a single headline grade (Outstanding / Good / RI / Inadequate). Instead, each inspection area is graded individually. This follows a major review after the death of headteacher Ruth Perry in 2023. The overall effectiveness field is left as "Not judged" in the published data.

Education

Good

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Good

2018-12-04

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

2015-03-19

Academy First Section 5 Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2012-03-12

None EIF

Inadequate

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Inadequate

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

2.0%per term

warning Above Average

National average: 0.8% for this term (primary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

1.2%(6 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 1.225% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 489 pupils. During this period, there were 10 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 2.0%, which is above the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg
2024/25 (Spring term)	489	10	2.0%	0.8%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	486	4	0.8%	0.9%
2023/24 (Summer term)	503	29	5.8%	0.8%
2023/24 (Spring term)	498	35	7.0%	0.7%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	492	47	9.6%	0.8%
2022/23 (Summer term)	493	18	3.7%	0.7%
2022/23 (Spring term)	485	26	5.4%	0.6%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	468	26	5.6%	0.6%
2021/22 (Summer term)	482	3	0.6%	0.5%
2021/22 (Spring term)	455	8	1.8%	0.5%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	432	20	4.6%	0.5%
2020/21 (Summer term)	473	14	3.0%	0.4%
2020/21 (Spring term)	467	5	1.1%	0.1%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	449	5	1.1%	0.4%
2019/20 (Summer term)	468	0	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	468	3	0.6%	0.4%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	456	5	1.1%	0.6%
2018/19 (Summer term)	471	3	0.6%	0.4%
2018/19 (Spring term)	466	7	1.5%	0.5%
2018/19 (Autumn term)	447	14	3.1%	0.5%
2017/18 (Summer term)	441	1	0.2%	0.5%
2017/18 (Spring term)	434	1	0.2%	0.4%
2017/18 (Autumn term)	426	1	0.2%	0.5%
2016/17 (Summer term)	412	7	1.7%	0.4%
2016/17 (Spring term)	411	25	6.1%	0.4%
2016/17 (Autumn term)	409	21	5.1%	0.5%

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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psychology_alt

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Speech, Language & Communication 40 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 19 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 5 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 4 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 2 pupils

Hearing Impairment 2 pupils

Profound & Multiple Learning 1 pupils

Multi-Sensory Impairment 1 pupils

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Parent View on Pastoral Care

Results from the official Ofsted Parent View survey, reflecting direct parent sentiment regarding the school environment.

My child is happy at this school.

85.0%Positive

My child feels safe at this school.

87.0%Positive

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

22.0%Positive

View All Survey Responseskeyboard_arrow_down

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

strongly agree29%

agree43%

disagree15%

strongly disagree10%

don't know4%

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

strongly agree39%

agree37%

disagree16%

strongly disagree6%

don't know2%

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

strongly agree38%

agree20%

disagree9%

strongly disagree12%

don't know1%

not applicable21%

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

yes23%

no77%

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

strongly agree32%

disagree16%

strongly disagree42%

dont know11%

The school has high expectations for my child.

strongly agree32%

agree51%

disagree10%

strongly disagree5%

don't know2%

My child does well at this school.

strongly agree50%

agree34%

disagree12%

strongly disagree4%

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

strongly agree41%

agree34%

disagree12%

strongly disagree10%

don't know2%

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

strongly agree41%

agree45%

disagree9%

don't know5%

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

strongly agree55%

agree40%

disagree4%

don't know1%

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

strongly agree33%

agree41%

disagree9%

strongly disagree9%

don't know9%

I would recommend this school to another parent.

yes79%

no21%

Top Primary Schools in Somerset

Other highly-ranked schools in the same local authority

View all arrow_forward

Walton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Good

location_on Street, BA16 9LA

emoji_events #1 in LA

Preston CofE Primary School

Outstanding

location_on Yeovil, BA21 3SN

emoji_events #2 in LA

Northgate Primary School

Good

location_on Bridgwater, TA6 3EU

emoji_events #3 in LA

St. Michael's Academy

Good

location_on Yeovil, BA21 4JW

emoji_events #4 in LA

Manor Court Community Primary School

Good

location_on Chard, TA20 2ES

emoji_events #5 in LA

St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School

Good

location_on Bridgwater, TA6 7LX

emoji_events #6 in LA

View all schools in Somerset arrow_forward

School Summary

Academic Performance

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Faith Priority (Church of England)

Distance to School

School Capacity

Primary Admission Trends

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Parent View on Pastoral Care

My child is happy at this school.

My child feels safe at this school.

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

The school has high expectations for my child.

My child does well at this school.

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

I would recommend this school to another parent.

Funding & Staffing

School Funding Allocation

Funding Breakdown

Staffing

Teacher Turnover

Top Primary Schools in Somerset

Walton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Preston CofE Primary School

Northgate Primary School

St. Michael's Academy

Manor Court Community Primary School

St Mary's Voluntary Controlled Church of England Primary School