Buckland St Mary Church of England Primary School
General Information
- Address: Fairend Lane, Buckland St Mary, Chard, TA20 3SJ – View on map
- Phone: 01460234251
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mr Sam Butler
- Age range: 2-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 3 families put it first for 3 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2024 10 · 2025 8 · 2026 10
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Church of England
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 5
- % eligible for free school meals: 9.6%
- Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (less mixed than the Somerset average)
- English as an additional language: 0% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 0% a year (Somerset 17.3%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (one year, 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. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.
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: 3.9%
- Persistently absent pupils: 5.1%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 9.3%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.9%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Moderate learning difficulty: 3 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
- Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Requires improvement 2021 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 71% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 12 percentage points above the Somerset average (59%)
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 71% · Writing 71% · Maths 71% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 57%
- Average test scores: reading 106, maths 103
- Based on: 7 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25
View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.
Year 6 SATs: joint 34th of 149 junior and primary schools in the area
- =34Blackbrook Primary School71%
- =34Bruton Primary School71%
- =34Buckland St Mary Church of England Primary School71%
- =34Cannington Church of England Primary School71%
- =34Cheddon Fitzpaine Church School71%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
137th of 152 primary schools in Somerset for Ofsted rating
- #135Baltonsborough Church of England VC Primary SchoolRequires improvement
- #136Barwick and Stoford Community Primary SchoolRequires improvement
- #137Buckland St Mary Church of England Primary SchoolRequires improvement
- #138Castle Cary Community Primary SchoolRequires improvement
- #139Croscombe Church of England Primary SchoolRequires improvement
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £9,025 (2024-25)
38th of 185 primary schools in Somerset for spending per pupil
- #36East Huntspill Primary Academy£9,185
- #37Charlton Mackrell CofE Primary School£9,158
- #38Buckland St Mary Church of England Primary School£9,025
- #39Oake, Bradford and Nynehead VC Primary£9,000
- #40St Nicholas CofE Primary School, Henstridge£8,883
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)