Birdwell Primary School

North Somerset · BS41 9AZ

General information Primary School · 3-11 years Who goes here 427 pupils, 6.1% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 8.4% on SEN support Behaviour 4.1% absence rate Staff 11% turnover Financials £6,394 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Birdwell Primary School

General Information

Address: Hollis Close, Long Ashton, Bristol, BS41 9AZ – View on map
Phone: 01275392496
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Paul Sainsbury
Age range: 3-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 66 families put it first for 60 places – 11 for every 10 places. 91% of them were offered a place. 2 of the 60 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 11
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

427 pupils out of 450 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 26
% eligible for free school meals: 6.1%
Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (less mixed than the North Somerset average)
English as an additional language: 7% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 11% a year (North Somerset 16.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 44% moved to another school, 56% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across North Somerset: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 6 (0.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in North Somerset, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 4.1%
Persistently absent pupils: 5.5%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 8.4%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.3%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 16 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 10 pupils
Physical disability: 5 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 4 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
Vision impairment: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Ofsted report card December 2025

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard
Early years Expected standard
Leadership and governance Expected standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2021). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 84% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 16% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 21 percentage points above the North Somerset average (63%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (3-year average 81% against an expected 69%)
3-year average (expected standard): 81%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 92% · Writing 85% · Maths 89% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 89%
Average test scores: reading 110, maths 108
Based on: 61 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolNorth Somerset averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 21 percentage points above the North Somerset average (63%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 3rd of 57 junior and primary schools in the area

#1Tickenham Church of England Primary School88%
#2St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Portbury86%
=3Birdwell Primary School84%
=3St Nicholas Chantry Church of England Primary School84%
#5St Andrew's CofE Primary School83%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Tickenham Church of England Primary School88%
#2St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Portbury86%
=3Birdwell Primary School84%
=3St Nicholas Chantry Church of England Primary School84%
#5St Andrew's CofE Primary School83%
#6Golden Valley Primary School81%
=7Mary Elton Primary School79%
=7St Peter's Church of England Primary School79%
#9Uphill Village Academy78%
=10Oldmixon Primary School77%
=10Yeo Moor Primary School77%
=12Churchill Church of England Primary School75%
=12Sandford Primary School75%
=14Herons' Moor Academy73%
=14Worle Village Primary School73%
=16Haywood Village Academy72%
=16High Down Junior School72%
=18St Anne's Church Academy70%
=18St Mark's Ecumenical Anglican/Methodist Primary School70%
#20St Francis Catholic Primary School69%
=21Northleaze Church of England Primary School68%
=21Portishead Primary School68%
=23St Georges Church School67%
=23St John the Evangelist Church School67%
#25Winscombe Primary School66%
#26Grove Junior School65%
=27Backwell Church of England Junior School64%
=27Castle Batch Primary School Academy64%
=27St Martin's Church of England Primary School64%
=27Trinity Anglican-Methodist Primary School64%
=27Wraxall Church of England Primary School64%
#32Mead Vale Community Primary School63%
#33Court-De-Wyck Church School62%
#34Blagdon Primary School61%
=35Burrington Church of England Primary School60%
=35Flax Bourton Church of England Primary School60%
=35Yatton Church of England Junior School60%
=38Banwell Primary School59%
=38Worlebury St Pauls Church School59%
#40Mendip Green Primary School58%
=41Christ Church Church of England Primary School57%
=41Locking Primary School57%
#43Becket Primary School56%
#44Ashcombe Primary School55%
=45Milton Park Primary School54%
=45Wrington Church of England Primary School54%
=47All Saints Church of England Primary School53%
=47Dundry Church of England Primary School53%
#49Walliscote Primary School49%
#50Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School48%
#51Parklands Educate Together Primary47%
#52Winford Church of England Primary School45%
#53Windwhistle Primary School42%
#54Crockerne Church of England Primary School40%
#55Hutton Church of England Primary School38%
#56Kingshill Church School32%
#57Bournville Primary School24%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,394 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

26th of 55 primary schools in North Somerset for spending per pupil

#24Court-De-Wyck Church School£6,430
#25All Saints Church of England Primary School£6,397
#26Birdwell Primary School£6,394
#27Burrington Church of England Primary School£6,369
#28Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School£6,364

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Kingshill Church School£9,563
#2Wraxall Church of England Primary School£7,986
#3St Anne's Church Academy£7,944
#4Blagdon Primary School£7,926
#5Bournville Primary School£7,713
#6Windwhistle Primary School£7,320
#7Mead Vale Community Primary School£7,310
#8St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Portbury£7,300
#9Dundry Church of England Primary School£7,292
#10Castle Batch Primary School Academy£7,037
#11Tickenham Church of England Primary School£7,034
#12Becket Primary School£6,953
#13St Andrew's CofE Primary School£6,887
#14Locking Primary School£6,885
#15St Georges Church School£6,812
#16St Peter's Church of England Primary School£6,721
#17Banwell Primary School£6,717
#18Oldmixon Primary School£6,658
#19Christ Church Church of England Primary School£6,565
#20Worle Village Primary School£6,552
#21Sandford Primary School£6,546
#22St Francis Catholic Primary School£6,490
#23St Martin's Church of England Primary School£6,431
#24Court-De-Wyck Church School£6,430
#25All Saints Church of England Primary School£6,397
#26Birdwell Primary School£6,394
#27Burrington Church of England Primary School£6,369
#28Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School£6,364
#29Crockerne Church of England Primary School£6,340
#30Portishead Primary School£6,305
#31Milton Park Primary School£6,270
#32Hutton Church of England Primary School£6,246
#33Parklands Educate Together Primary£6,159
#34Flax Bourton Church of England Primary School£6,155
#35Mendip Green Primary School£6,135
#36Winford Church of England Primary School£6,124
#37Chestnut Park Primary£6,097
#38Walliscote Primary School£6,049
#39Worlebury St Pauls Church School£5,978
#40Trinity Anglican-Methodist Primary School£5,861
#41St Mark's Ecumenical Anglican/Methodist Primary School£5,826
#42Churchill Church of England Primary School£5,804
#43Winscombe Primary School£5,799
#44Uphill Village Academy£5,795
#45Ashcombe Primary School£5,782
#46Haywood Village Academy£5,773
#47St Nicholas Chantry Church of England Primary School£5,769
#48Mary Elton Primary School£5,728
#49St John the Evangelist Church School£5,722
#50Golden Valley Primary School£5,645
#51Wrington Church of England Primary School£5,616
#52Yeo Moor Primary School£5,465
#53Herons' Moor Academy£5,426
#54Northleaze Church of England Primary School£5,422
#55St Joseph's Catholic Primary School£4,023

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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