Bishop Henderson Church of England Primary School, Taunton
General Information
- Address: Henderson Close, Taunton, TA1 4TU – View on map
- Phone: 01823274770
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Rachel White
- Age range: 5-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 47 families put it first for 50 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 1 of the 50 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 9 · 2026 9
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Church of England
- Nursery provision: No
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 53
- % eligible for free school meals: 12.5%
- Pupil mix: 5 in 10 (more mixed than the Somerset average)
- English as an additional language: 23% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 8.7% a year (Somerset 17.3%, typical in England 13.9%) Low turnover
- Where they went: about 36% moved to another school, 64% 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. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.
Behaviour
Awaiting Data
Across Somerset: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 2 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
- Suspensions for bullying: 5 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 1 (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 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: 4.6%
- Persistently absent pupils: 8.9%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 15.4%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.8%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Speech, language and communications needs: 35 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 14 pupils
- SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 13 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 2 pupils
- Other difficulty or disability: 1 pupil
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 2 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
- Physical disability: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2023 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 75% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 14% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 16 percentage points above the Somerset average (59%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Above (3-year average 70% against an expected 65%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 70%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 86% · Writing 86% · Maths 81% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 84%
- Average test scores: reading 109, maths 107
- Based on: 64 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
Year 6 SATs: joint 23rd of 149 junior and primary schools in the area
- =23All Saints Church School75%
- =23Bishop Henderson Church of England Primary School75%
- =23Bishop Henderson Church of England Primary School, Taunton75%
- =23Crowcombe CofE VA Primary School75%
- =23Manor Court Community Primary School75%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
14th of 152 primary schools in Somerset for Ofsted rating
- #12Beech Grove Primary SchoolGood
- #13Birchfield Community Primary SchoolGood
- #14Bishop Henderson Church of England Primary School, TauntonGood
- #15Bishops Hull Primary SchoolGood
- #16Bishops Lydeard Church SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £6,102 (2024-25)
151st of 185 primary schools in Somerset for spending per pupil
- #149Trull Church of England VA Primary School£6,124
- #150Brent Knoll Church of England Primary School£6,104
- #151Bishop Henderson Church of England Primary School, Taunton£6,102
- #152King Ina Church of England Academy£6,084
- #153Ruishton Church of England School£6,079
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)