School Chooser

Priorswood Primary School

Primary · ages 2-11MixedAcademy211 pupilsNurseryTauntonSomerset
School Chooser Score
15
Below
similar schools
Likely range 6 to 34
Out of 100. Better than 20% of the 50 schools most like it. Getting better year on year.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, November 2022
Reached the expected level at 1144%England 63%
Attendance94.7%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families31%A bit more than most schools
PlacesFull211 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher18.3School workforce census

Priorswood Primary School is a sponsored academy in Taunton for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. It has 211 pupils, 1 more than it has places for. About 31 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit more than at most schools. We give it 15 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 20% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2022.

Wedlands, Taunton, TA2 7AD01823 284897priorswoodprimaryschool.clf.ukMr Stephen Morton headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 8 November 2022, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

25 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1144%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level4%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score100.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score99.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 32%32%20172018: 39%39%20182019: 53%53%20192023: 21%21%20232024: 29%29%20242025: 44%44%2025
Since 2017: +12%Improving overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure20252024202320192018†2017†SomersetEngland
Pupils tested251428152819
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths44%29%21%53%39%32%60%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths4%0%0%0%0%0%7%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score100.099.0100.098.0103.0100.0105.1105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score99.098.097.099.099.0101.0103.7104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score100.097.098.0100.0102.0102.0104.5105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard60%57%54%60%57%53%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard48%36%43%60%50%58%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)60%43%36%60%43%47%
Reading progressReading progress score-1.3-2.8-3.6-3.8
Maths progressMaths progress score-4.2-3.6-6.4-3.1
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged25%20%33%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged62%22%44%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

† These results are for Priorswood Primary School, the school this one replaced in September 2018. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 1 of the 3 gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
25%62%
Gap 37 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
41%50%
Gap 9 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%4%
Gap 4 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

A few spare places192 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
91% full

About 18 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have grown by 32% since 2021/22, so places are getting harder to come by.

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 Somerset 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.

Pupils on roll211Census January 2026
Places210100% full
Pupils from low-income families31%31% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English31%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support21%45 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%6 pupils with a plan
Average class size26.48 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)33%£94,550 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls113 / 98
White British pupils54%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 23.7 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 28.8 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (20), emotional and mental health (13), Other difficulty or disability (7), Autistic spectrum disorder (3), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (3), Moderate learning difficulty (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll211212199186165162
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals31%31%32%37%36%39%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language31%31%28%28%23%22%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support22%18%20%26%24%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans3%2%2%1%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance94.7%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school12.0%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils3.32024/25, 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 absence5.3%5.3%6.6%7.5%4.3%5.7%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.1%3.7%4.3%5.7%3.3%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.2%1.7%2.4%1.8%1.0%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence12.0%13.0%21.7%24.8%10.2%17.4%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate3.36.58.11.81.9
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers11.5full-time equivalent, 14 people
Pupils per teacher18.3Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers93%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants10.4full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£44,882
Teachers who left in the year22%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher0.72024/25

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.

Spend per pupil£6,062England £7,128. Total £1.3m
Income per pupil£6,867England £7,587. Total £1.4m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,729England £3,405
Money in reserve9%A healthy amount put by: £122k, £582 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£169kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,062spent 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 m50612 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate100 per 1,000 people10% higher than the England average
Nearest bus stop140 mRafa Club, 29 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
St Andrew's Church SchoolAcademy490 m223No overall grade 20249Compare
Wellsprings Primary SchoolCouncil790 m279Not inspected11Compare
Lyngford Park Primary SchoolAcademy0.7 miles284Good 202323Compare
North Town AcademyAcademy0.7 miles470Good 202345Compare
St James Church SchoolAcademy0.7 miles479No overall grade 202416Compare
Nerrols Primary School and NurseryFree school0.9 miles279Good 202337Compare
Holy Trinity Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy1.0 miles363Good 202319Compare
St George's Catholic SchoolRoman Catholic1.1 miles219Good 202358Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Priorswood Primary School with the 49 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 49 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats20%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the bottom quarter of its group. Its score of 15 is 28 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 1 · middle 43 · highest 98100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 49 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Priorswood Primary 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
Northgate Primary SchoolFree school8.2 miles258Report card 202667Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 15 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 15% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 6 to 34. 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 years25%below
-0.25
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 25 pupils
Ofsted inspection18% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 3.8 years old
Progress pupils make20%below
-0.19
DfE progress measure; 25 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%well above
+0.13
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%in line
+0.00
2024/25; 183 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well below
-0.24
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 25 pupils
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 Priorswood Primary School a good school?

The figures are weak. Priorswood Primary School scores 15 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 20% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 6 to 34, 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 Priorswood Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Priorswood Primary School good at its last full inspection on 8 November 2022.

How good are Priorswood Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 44% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 4% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Priorswood Primary School have?

211 pupils aged 2 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 100% full.

Is Priorswood Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 18 places were empty in 2024/25 (9% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Priorswood Primary School?

Pupils were in school 94.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 12% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Priorswood Primary School?

The average class had 26.4 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
Wedlands, Taunton, TA2 7AD
Telephone
01823 284897
Website
www.priorswoodprimaryschool.clf.uk
Headteacher
Mr Stephen Morton
Type of school
Sponsored academy (Academy sponsor led, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 2-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Cabot Learning Federation (36 schools)
Local authority
Somerset
Ward
Taunton North
Constituency
Taunton and Wellington
Setting
Urban: Further from a major town or city
Opened
1 September 2018 (fresh start)
URN
146747 · LAESTAB 9332035 · UKPRN 10081913
Formerly
Priorswood Primary School

Where these figures come from