Kingfisher CE Academy
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Kingfisher CE Academy is a free school in Swindon for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. It has 148 pupils and room for 444. About 18 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit fewer than at most schools. We give it 16 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 5% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was requires improvement, back in 2024.
Peglars Way, Wichelstowe, Swindon, SN1 7DA01793 379521kcea.org.ukMs Sharon Bishop headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 20 February 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Requires improvement overall.
Results
No published results yet for this school.
Getting a place
Open to all. There is no entrance test. As a Church of England/Christian school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.
336 places were empty (80% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have grown by 460% since 2021/22.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Swindon council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
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.
Specialist SEND provision. SEN unit with 11 pupils, for autism, moderate learning difficulties, physical disability, social, emotional and mental health, speech, language and communication, specific learning difficulties, visual impairment.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Swindon with autism provision.
Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 24.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 17.5 (England 27.3).
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (19), emotional and mental health (13), Autistic spectrum disorder (6), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (3), Specific learning difficulty (2), Multi-sensory impairment (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 148 | 113 | 95 | 58 | 31 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 18% | 25% | 27% | 28% | 36% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 49% | 50% | 24% | 14% | 10% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 24% | 14% | 7% | 16% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 2% | 1% | 2% | 3% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.5% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 4.5% | 5.3% | 6.8% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 2.8% | 4.3% | 5.0% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.7% | 0.9% | 1.9% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 9.3% | 10.0% | 17.7% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 8.0 | 3.2 | 0.0 | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
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
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.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lift East Wichel | Academy | 0.8 miles | – | Outstanding 2022 | – | Compare |
| Lift Hazelwood | Academy | 0.8 miles | 252 | Good 2023 | 89 | Compare |
| Robert Le Kyng Primary School | Academy | 1.0 miles | 411 | Not inspected | 85 | Compare |
| Wroughton Junior School | Academy | 1.2 miles | 304 | Not inspected | 59 | Compare |
| Oliver Tomkins Church of England Infant and Nursery School | Church of England | 1.2 miles | 136 | Good 2023 | 11 | Compare |
| Oliver Tomkins Church of England Junior School | Church of England | 1.2 miles | 190 | Report card 2026 | 5 | Compare |
| Westlea Primary School | Academy | 1.3 miles | 289 | Good 2023 | 17 | Compare |
| Millbrook Primary School | Academy | 1.3 miles | 373 | No overall grade 2024 | 39 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Kingfisher CE Academy with the 42 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 42 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher
Of those 42 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Kingfisher CE Academy, 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.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King William Street Church of England Primary School | Academy | 1.4 miles | 198 | Good 2019 | 50 | Compare |
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 16 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 16% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 7 to 37. 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 at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Ofsted inspection | 20% | well below | -1.35 | Ofsted grade, 2.6 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | well above | +0.75 | results and attendance rising year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | above | +0.10 | 2024/25; 86 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 0% | no data | – | |
| What parents say | 0% | 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 Kingfisher CE Academy a good school?
The figures are weak. Kingfisher CE Academy scores 16 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 5% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 7 to 37, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been getting better over the last five years.
What is Kingfisher CE Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Kingfisher CE Academy requires improvement at its last full inspection on 20 February 2024.
How many pupils does Kingfisher CE Academy have?
148 pupils aged 2 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 444 places, so it is 33% full.
Is Kingfisher CE Academy oversubscribed?
Probably not. 336 places were empty in 2024/25 (80% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at Kingfisher CE Academy?
Pupils were in school 95.5% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 9% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Kingfisher CE Academy?
The average class had 18.5 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.
Does Kingfisher CE Academy have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It has sen unit for autism, moderate learning difficulties, physical disability, social, emotional and mental health, speech, language and communication, specific learning difficulties, visual impairment. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Peglars Way, Wichelstowe, Swindon, SN1 7DA
- Telephone
- 01793 379521
- Website
- www.kcea.org.uk
- Headteacher
- Ms Sharon Bishop
- Type of school
- Free school (Free schools, free schools)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 2-11, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England/Christian, Diocese of Bristol
- Multi-academy trust
- The Park Academies Trust (8 schools)
- Local authority
- Swindon
- Ward
- Wroughton and Wichelstowe
- Constituency
- East Wiltshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2021 (new provision)
- URN
- 143673 · LAESTAB 8662017 · UKPRN 10088765
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.