Palmerston Primary School, Barry

Palmerston Primary School is an English-medium school in Wales. Welsh schools are inspected by Estyn rather than Ofsted, and its latest report is published on Estyn's website.

It had 215 pupils in the 2025/26 school census.

29% of pupils are eligible for free school meals (three-year average).

Of its pupils, 18% have additional learning needs; and 16% are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Year groups range from 23 pupils (Year 2) to 29 (Year 5).

Its delegated budget for 2026-27 works out at £5,968 per pupil, against £4,009 in 2021-22. It ended 2024-25 with a deficit of £381k.

Estyn's report on its May 2025 inspection summarises Palmerston Primary School like this:

"Palmerston Primary School is a highly inclusive and nurturing environment that provides a high level of support to its families and community. The headteacher is fully committed to the values of the school and works positively with staff and pupils to develop warm and caring working relationships. As a result, many pupils feel safe in school, and families feel well supported. Teachers, including those in the school’s resource base, support the pupils’ wide-ranging needs extremely well. Many teachers provide bespoke opportunities for them to engage in real-life experiences that support them to develop their skills. Many pupils engage well in lessons. The school provides a broad and balanced curriculum, which includes a suitable range of activities that develop pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills. Many pupils’ digital skills are particularly strong, and they apply these skills well in a wide range of contexts."

"Overall, pupils are beginning to develop their confidence in speaking Welsh. In the most effective lessons, teachers plan to support pupils to progress well. As a result, many pupils, including those who are vulnerable and those with additional learning needs (ALN), make at least the expected progress during their time in school. However, the quality of teaching across the school is inconsistent. In a minority of lessons there is a tendency for adults to direct the learning too rigidly. As a result, a few pupils are not always sufficiently challenged, and there are too few opportunities for pupils to apply their skills independently across the wider curriculum. Leaders evaluate the impact of the school’s work well and have a good awareness of strengths and areas for development. Supporting the well-being of pupils, staff and parents is a high priority."

"Despite several recent changes in teaching staff, the school has strong, trusting relationships with its community. Families are very appreciative of the opportunities they receive to develop their knowledge and skills and make links with a wide variety of agencies. This is a notable strength of the school. Leaders and governors allocate considerable resources to meet the high levels of need of pupils with ALN. However, they do not have robust enough arrangements in place to manage the school’s resources. The school monitors pupils’ attendance diligently. However, despite the school’s considerable efforts, rates of attendance remain too low."

Estyn made 3 recommendations: (1) Address inconsistencies in teaching to ensure that all pupils are challenged appropriately and develop their independence; (2) Improve attendance rates; (3) Strengthen resource management.

The nearest other state primary schools to Palmerston Primary School are Cadoxton Community Primary (0.7 miles), Jenner Park Primary (1.1 miles), St Andrews Major C.I.W. Primary School (1.2 miles) and Holton Primary School (1.2 miles).

The nearest railway station is Cadoxton Rail Station, about 830 metres away (roughly a 10-minute walk).

6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Palmer Street (before), 240 metres away.