School Chooser

Elmley Castle CofE First School

Primary · ages 5-10MixedChurch of England79 pupilsNurseryPershoreWorcestershire
School Chooser Score
6
Well below
similar schools
Likely range 3 to 16
Out of 100. Better than 4% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedNeeds attention teachingOfsted report card, April 2026
Attendance95.4%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families4%Far fewer than most schools
Places41 spare79 pupils, 120 places
Pupils per teacher16.6School workforce census
Pupils on roll79Census January 2026

Elmley Castle CofE First School is a Church of England school (voluntary controlled) in Pershore for boys and girls aged 5 to 10. It has 79 pupils and room for 120. About 4 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 6 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 4% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted visited in April 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.

Main Street, Elmley Castle, Elmley Castle Cofe, Pershore, WR10 3HS01386 710279elmleycastle.worcs.sch.ukMiss Natalie Harbron headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted visited on 14 April 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.

TeachingOfsted calls this “curriculum and teaching”
Needs attention
Achievement
Needs attention
Behaviour and attendanceOfsted calls this “attendance and behaviour”
As expected
Support for every childOfsted calls this “inclusion”
Needs attention
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development and wellbeing”
As expected
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and governance”
As expected
Early years
As expected
SafeguardingAre pupils kept safe?
Pupils are kept safe
Met
Ofsted's scale:ExceptionalStrong standardExpected standardNeeds attentionUrgent improvement

Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.

Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
21 June 2022UngradedSchool remains Good

Results

No published results yet for this school.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

A few spare places84 pupils for 90 places, 2024/25
93% full

About 6 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have grown by 17% since 2021/22, so places are getting harder to come by.

Will my child get a place?

In 2026 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.

We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.

How places were given out for September 2026. Every child who applied got a place.

EntryPlacesHow far the last child livedSource
2026 Primary15all offeredLA
2025 Primary15all offeredLA
2024 Primary15all offeredLA
2023 Primary15all offeredLA
2022 Primary154.5 miles (distance, outside the catchment area)LA
2021 Primary15all offeredLA
2020 Primary15all offeredLA

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll79Census January 2026
Places12066% full
Pupils from low-income families4%4% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English0%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support15%12 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan6%5 pupils with a plan
Average class size19.84 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)6%£6,200 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls43 / 36
White British pupils70%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 24.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 18.5 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Specific learning difficulty (9), Moderate learning difficulty (2), language and communications needs (2), Autistic spectrum disorder (1), emotional and mental health (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll798889796970
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals4%6%7%4%7%4%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language0%1%1%3%3%3%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support9%14%10%13%9%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans3%3%1%3%4%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.4% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance95.4%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school11.3%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils1.12024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.2%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence4.6%6.3%6.3%9.1%2.4%5.1%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.4%4.2%5.4%8.3%2.0%2.5%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.2%2.0%0.9%0.8%0.4%2.6%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence11.3%13.3%19.7%34.4%2.0%15.9%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate1.10.00.00.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers4.6full-time equivalent, 7 people
Pupils per teacher16.6Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants6.8full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£43,733
Teachers who left in the year19%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher0.62024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£8,661England £7,738. Total £753k
Income per pupil£8,488England £7,697. Total £738k
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,524England £3,480
Money in reserve-20%In the red: -£144k, -£1,654 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£15kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£8,661spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m1612 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate50 per 1,000 people45% lower than the England average
Typical house price£330,000Wychavon
Nearest bus stop70 mNetherton Lane Village Hall, 3 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Bredon Hill AcademyAcademy2.0 miles472No overall grade 202578Compare
Ashton-under-Hill First SchoolCouncil2.3 miles95Good 202257Compare
Cropthorne-with-Charlton CofE First SchoolChurch of England2.4 miles94Good 202471Compare
St Andrew's CofE School and NurseryChurch of England2.9 miles348Good 202227Compare
Overbury CofE First SchoolChurch of England3.0 miles81Good 202372Compare
Sedgeberrow CofE First SchoolChurch of England3.0 miles177No overall grade 202474Compare
Fladbury CofE Primary School and PreschoolChurch of England3.2 miles76No overall grade 202591Compare
Holy Redeemer Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic3.6 miles184Good 202380Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Elmley Castle CofE First School with the 47 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 47 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats4%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the bottom of its group. Its score of 6 is 52 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 5 · middle 59 · highest 99100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 47 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Elmley Castle CofE First School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Cropthorne-with-Charlton CofE First SchoolChurch of England2.4 miles94Good 202471Compare
Feckenham CofE Primary SchoolAcademy13.0 miles95Good 202413Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 6 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 6% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 3 to 16. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years0%no data
Ofsted inspection20%well below
-0.92
Ofsted report card, 0.4 years old
Progress pupils make0%no data
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
-0.04
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%above
+0.11
2024/25; 71 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils0%no data
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Elmley Castle CofE First School a good school?

The figures are weak. Elmley Castle CofE First School scores 6 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 4% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 3 to 16, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Elmley Castle CofE First School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 14 April 2026 it rated teaching as needs attention, achievement as needs attention, behaviour and attendance as as expected, leadership as as expected.

How many pupils does Elmley Castle CofE First School have?

79 pupils aged 5 to 10 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 120 places, so it is 66% full.

Is Elmley Castle CofE First School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 6 places were empty in 2024/25 (7% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Elmley Castle CofE First School?

Pupils were in school 95.4% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 11% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Elmley Castle CofE First School?

The average class had 19.8 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Main Street, Elmley Castle, Elmley Castle Cofe, Pershore, WR10 3HS
Telephone
01386 710279
Website
www.elmleycastle.worcs.sch.uk
Headteacher
Miss Natalie Harbron
Type of school
Church of England school (voluntary controlled) (Voluntary controlled school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 5-10, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England, Diocese of Worcester
Local authority
Worcestershire
Ward
Bredon Hill
Constituency
West Worcestershire
Setting
Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
116808 · LAESTAB 8853040 · UKPRN 10068746

Where these figures come from