Shipham Church of England First School

About Shipham Church of England First School

Shipham Church of England First School is a small state primary in Somerset, with 80 pupils on roll against a capacity of 97, meaning it has room to grow. Its intake is notably less disadvantaged than the national picture: just 4.5% of pupils qualify for free school meals, compared with a typical primary average of around 23% across England. The school is a Church of England foundation and takes children from age 2 to 9, with a nursery on site. Demand is strong for Reception places: for the 2025/26 academic year, the school received 15 applications for just 4 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3.75. All 4 first-preference applicants were offered a place, but the numbers suggest that families further down the priority list are likely to miss out. The school is led by headteacher Sarah Netto and sits within Somerset local authority, which has 219 primary schools in total, only 6 of which are rated Outstanding by Ofsted.

In its most recent graded inspection in October 2024, Ofsted judged Shipham Church of England First School to be Good across all five key areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. The school has held a Good rating since at least its previous inspection in 2013, when leadership and management and overall effectiveness were also graded 2. No exam results data is available for this school in the current dataset, so it is not possible to compare its KS2 performance against the Somerset local authority average of 59% reaching the expected standard. However, parent feedback is very positive: 92% of the 26 respondents would recommend the school to other parents. Strong majorities strongly agreed that their child is happy (81%) and feels safe (81%), and 69% strongly agreed that their child can take part in clubs and activities. The school offers a range of clubs including Eco Club, Art Club, Film Club, Book Club, Drama and Science Club, plus sports such as football, rounders, cricket and swimming.

Facilities include an outdoor playground, library, dining hall, playing fields and a chapel, reflecting the school’s Church of England character. For children with additional needs, the school provides support for moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, autistic spectrum disorder, and other difficulties or disabilities. The parent view data shows that no respondents answered the question about SEND support, so it is unclear how well that provision is perceived. The school is not a boarding school and does not have a sixth form, as it only goes up to Year 4. Shipham is best suited to families in the local area who want a small, church-affiliated first school with a strong sense of community and a good Ofsted rating, but who are prepared for the reality of oversubscription — particularly for Reception entry. Given its low FSM intake and high parental satisfaction, it may appeal particularly to families who value a calm, well-behaved environment with strong extracurricular opportunities.

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