St Michael's Church of England Academy
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St Michael's Church of England Academy is a free school in Paignton for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. It has 101 pupils and room for 210. About 23 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit fewer than at most schools. We give it 95 out of 100. That puts it well above schools like it, ahead of 100% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.
Fisher Street, Paignton, TQ4 5EW01803 500971stmichaels-lap.co.ukMrs Julie Edwards headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 30 April 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good 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 school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.
143 places were empty (68% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have grown by 272% since 2021/22.
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 (25 offers for 30 places). 20 families put it down as their first choice and 20 of them got in (100%).
| Entry | Places | Put it first | Applied at all | Got a place | First choices who got in | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Primary | 30 | 20 | 37 | 25 | 100% | – all offered | LA |
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.
Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 24.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 23.0 (England 27.3).
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (11), emotional and mental health (5), Other difficulty or disability (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 101 | 85 | 63 | 48 | 27 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 24% | 13% | 16% | 19% | 15% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 7% | 9% | 8% | 4% | 0% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 12% | 8% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 1% | 2% | 0% | 0% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.1% 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 | 3.9% | 5.8% | 7.8% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 3.1% | 4.3% | 6.6% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 0.8% | 1.4% | 1.2% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 7.1% | 15.4% | 14.3% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 0.0 | 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curledge Street Academy | Academy | 240 m | 439 | Good 2023 | 74 | Compare |
| Hayes School | Academy | 550 m | 340 | No overall grade 2024 | 91 | Compare |
| Sacred Heart Catholic School | Academy | 950 m | 208 | Good 2023 | 58 | Compare |
| Oldway Primary School | Academy | 0.7 miles | 598 | Good 2024 | 32 | Compare |
| Roselands Primary School | Academy | 0.9 miles | 315 | Good 2020 | 32 | Compare |
| Kings Ash Academy | Academy | 1.1 miles | 293 | Good 2021 | 31 | Compare |
| Collaton St Mary Church of England Primary School | Academy | 1.4 miles | 199 | Good 2022 | 60 | Compare |
| White Rock Primary School | Foundation | 1.4 miles | 666 | Not inspected | 19 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares St Michael's Church of England Academy 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.
No school with a similar mix of pupils within 25 km scores clearly higher.
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 95 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 95% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 86 to 99. 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% | in line | +0.03 | Ofsted grade, 2.4 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 | +0.13 | 2024/25; 56 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 St Michael's Church of England Academy a good school?
Yes, going by the figures. St Michael's Church of England Academy scores 95 out of 100. That is well above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 100% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 86 to 99, 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 St Michael's Church of England Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated St Michael's Church of England Academy good at its last full inspection on 30 April 2024.
How many pupils does St Michael's Church of England Academy have?
101 pupils aged 2 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 48% full.
Is St Michael's Church of England Academy oversubscribed?
Probably not. 143 places were empty in 2024/25 (68% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at St Michael's Church of England Academy?
Pupils were in school 96.1% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 7% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at St Michael's Church of England Academy?
The average class had 19.8 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.
Does St Michael's Church of England Academy have a breakfast club?
Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Fisher Street, Paignton, TQ4 5EW
- Telephone
- 01803 500971
- Website
- stmichaels-lap.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Julie Edwards
- Free breakfast club
- Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
- Type of school
- Free school (Free schools, free schools)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 2-11, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England, Diocese of Exeter
- Multi-academy trust
- Learning Academy Partnership (South West) (18 schools)
- Local authority
- Torbay
- Ward
- Roundham with Hyde
- Constituency
- Torbay
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2021 (new provision)
- URN
- 147851 · LAESTAB 8802005 · UKPRN 10088774
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.
- Admissions outcomes: Torbay council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2026.
- Breakfast club: DfE list of schools on the free breakfast club programme.
- 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.