Ofsted: Good trending_up Places Available emoji_events #172 in Devon public Top 67% UK

St Helen's Church of England School

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

personMrs Rebecca Northcott

corporate_fareALUMNIS MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST

location_onBideford, EX39 5AP

language Visit Website phone 1237475276

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2013

groups

Students

210

school

Expected Standard

57%

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

1.0x

summarize

St Helen's Church of England School is a Academy converter primary school in Bideford, serving ages 2-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Ranks in the top 67% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

St Helen's Church of England School is an academy converter in Bideford, Devon, admitting pupils aged 2-11. It is part of ALUMNIS MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST. The school has approximately 206 pupils on roll, of whom 9% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 57% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined. The school ranks #172 of 266 primaries in Devon and #11,025 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2013. The school's current overall rating is Good.

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

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 20.5:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 0.0 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

57%

LA 57%

Reading77% LA 75%

Writing63% LA 67%

Maths73% LA 71%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

102

GPS SS

103

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

87%

LA 55%England 61%

Reading93% LA 75% · Eng 74%

Writing90% LA 66% · Eng 72%

Maths87% LA 68% · Eng 73%

Read SS

109

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

108

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

66%

LA 55%England 60%

Reading90% LA 73% · Eng 73%

Writing69% LA 66% · Eng 71%

Maths76% LA 67% · Eng 73%

Read SS

106

Maths SS

103

GPS SS

102

Progress (0 = national avg)

1.9

Read

LA 0.3

-0.4 to 4.2

-0.9

Write

LA -0.7

-3.1 to 1.3

-0.1

Maths

LA -0.9

-2.3 to 2.0

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

No digital report timeline available.

Inspection History

2 Evaluations

2013-01-29

S5 Inspection EIF

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2010-03-22

None EIF

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

gavel

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

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

Suspension Rate

0.0%per term

sentiment_satisfied Below Average (Good)

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

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

0.0%(0 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 206 pupils. During this period, there were 0 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 0.0%, which is below 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)	206	0	0.0%	0.8%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	206	0	0.0%	0.9%
2023/24 (Summer term)	211	1	0.5%	0.8%
2023/24 (Spring term)	208	0	0.0%	0.7%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	208	1	0.5%	0.8%
2022/23 (Summer term)	212	1	0.5%	0.7%
2022/23 (Spring term)	210	0	0.0%	0.6%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	209	0	0.0%	0.6%
2021/22 (Summer term)	208	0	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Spring term)	210	2	1.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	210	1	0.5%	0.5%
2020/21 (Summer term)	212	0	0.0%	0.4%
2020/21 (Spring term)	212	1	0.5%	0.1%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	209	2	1.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Summer term)	210	0	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	210	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	208	0	0.0%	0.6%
2018/19 (Summer term)	207	0	0.0%	0.4%
2018/19 (Spring term)	207	0	0.0%	0.5%
2018/19 (Autumn term)	205	0	0.0%	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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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 11 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 10 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 5 pupils

Hearing Impairment 3 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 2 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 2 pupils

Physical Disability 1 pupils

health_and_safety

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.

93.0%Positive

My child feels safe at this school.

99.0%Positive

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

7.0%Positive

View All Survey Responseskeyboard_arrow_down

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

strongly agree44%

agree41%

disagree7%

don't know8%

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

strongly agree59%

agree39%

disagree2%

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

strongly agree30%

agree34%

disagree11%

strongly disagree3%

not applicable21%

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.

strongly agree41%

agree41%

disagree8%

strongly disagree2%

don't know8%

My child does well at this school.

strongly agree39%

agree49%

disagree8%

strongly disagree2%

don't know2%

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

strongly agree43%

agree49%

disagree5%

strongly disagree3%

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

strongly agree44%

agree38%

disagree11%

strongly disagree2%

don't know5%

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

strongly agree25%

agree39%

disagree16%

strongly disagree11%

don't know8%

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

strongly agree41%

agree41%

disagree5%

strongly disagree5%

don't know8%

I would recommend this school to another parent.

yes85%

no15%

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Other highly-ranked schools in the same local authority

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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 Devon

The Grove School

Canada Hill Community Primary School

Stowford School

Bickleigh Down Church of England Primary School

Witheridge Church of England Primary Academy

Ashleigh CofE Primary School