Stoke St Michael Primary School

About Stoke St Michael Primary School

Stoke St Michael Primary School received a Requires Improvement rating in its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023, a grade it has held across both its recent inspections. The school’s overall effectiveness and leadership and management were both rated Requires Improvement, while quality of education also sits at that level. However, there are clear strengths: personal development, behaviour and attitudes, and early years provision were all judged Good. With just 56 pupils on roll against a capacity of 80, the school is small and not oversubscribed — in the 2025/26 admissions round it received exactly nine applications for nine places, with eight of those coming as first preferences. That suggests a stable, local intake rather than a scramble for places. The most informative exam metric available is the local authority average for Key Stage 2, which sits at 59% of pupils meeting the expected standard; Stoke St Michael’s own KS2 data is not published in this dataset, so it’s hard to say how it compares directly, but the school’s Ofsted record indicates there is work to do on academic delivery.

The school’s Ofsted breakdown shows a mixed picture. While early years provision is Good, the quality of education and leadership and management both require improvement, which mirrors the previous inspection in 2019 where overall effectiveness was also Requires Improvement. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is 31.9%, well above the national average, which can affect attainment figures. The local authority average for Key Stage 2 expected standard is 59%, and across Somerset there are only six primary schools rated Outstanding out of 219 total, so top grades are rare in this area. Without Stoke St Michael’s own KS2 results in the data, parents would need to check the school’s performance tables directly. The school does not have a sixth form, as it is a primary, and it offers nursery provision for children from age two. The headteacher is Chris Partridge, who has been in post since at least the 2023 inspection.

Facilities include a sports hall, gymnasium, playing fields, ICT suite, library, and a sensory room, which is a useful resource given the school’s SEND provisions. These cover a wide range of needs: specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, speech and language communication needs, social and emotional mental health, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. The school runs clubs for drama, choir, and chess, and offers sports including football, dance, cricket, athletics, tennis, swimming, and netball. With only 56 pupils, class sizes are small, which can benefit children who need more individual attention. The school is not oversubscribed and has a chapel on site, though it has no religious character. This is a school that suits families in the Stoke St Michael area looking for a small, local primary with strong early years provision and a broad SEND offer, but who are aware that academic outcomes are an area of focus for improvement.

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