North Petherton Primary School, Bridgwater
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Location
Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 9 months agoReport card - no overall grade (new Ofsted framework from Sep 2024)
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
North Petherton is a warm, welcoming school where children feel valued and safe. Staff and pupils demonstrate excellent relationships, with consistent routines and high expectations for behaviour creating a calm, positive atmosphere. The school offers plenty of enrichment activities and ensures most pupils leave at the end of Year 6 achieving at the expected standard.
Key Strengths
- Strong safeguarding culture where pupils feel safe and valued
- Excellent personal development with wide range of clubs and enrichment activities
- Positive behaviour and attendance in line with national average
- Warm, inclusive relationships between staff and pupils
- By end of Year 6, most pupils achieve in line with national expectations
Areas for Improvement
- Teaching of reading, writing and maths in key stage 1 is inconsistent and lacks rigour
- Early years curriculum is not ambitious enough - children not building knowledge needed for Year 1
- Too many pupils have not grasped basics of number facts and sentence structure
- Variable approaches to checking and addressing gaps in pupil knowledge
- Teachers not given sufficient support and expertise to meet needs of pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils
Safeguarding
Safeguarding standards are met - the school has established an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and pupils are made safer and feel safe.
Extracurricular Activities
Football, netball, computer coding, drama performances, concerts, carol services, Remembrance Day activities, singing in local theatre, science and engineering workshops, residential trips, forest school sessions
North Petherton Primary School is emerging from a period of leadership instability with decisive improvements underway. While safeguarding is effective and pupils feel safe and valued, there are significant concerns about the quality of teaching and curriculum delivery, particularly in early years and key stage 1.
At a Glance
16.4%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2025/26KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has improved from 69% to 82%. Maths has improved from 71% to 75%. Writing has improved from 74% to 87%.
Class Sizes
29.1
Avg class size
30.2
Infant (KS1)
28.4
KS2
14
Total classes
5 classes with more than 30 pupils
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
97%
Near capacity
409 pupils
420 capacity
11 spare places available
Area Demand Pressure - Bridgwater
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Bridgwater
Admissions Demand - Somerset
Places available
6,463
Applications
5,059
Got 1st preference
95.3%
Got preferred school
98.8%
Primary admissions across Somerset (2025/26)
Inspection History(5)
House Prices
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SEN Provision
How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.
Pupil Demographics
The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.
Teachers & Staff
Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.
School Funding
Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.78497%
Overall absence
11.32597%
Persistent absence
362
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
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Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
North Petherton Primary School
Nearby Schools
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