Soudley School - The School Companion

Soudley School

Forest of Dean · GL14 2UA

General information Primary School · 4-11 years Who goes here 44 pupils, 18.2% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 27.3% on SEN support Behaviour 6.4% absence rate Staff 56% turnover Financials £14,868 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Soudley School

General Information

Address: Soudley, Cinderford, GL14 2UA – View on map
Phone: 01594822004
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Mel Davis
Age range: 4-11 years
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

44 pupils out of 77 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 8
% eligible for free school meals: 18.2%
Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (similar to the Forest of Dean average)
English as an additional language: 0% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 56% a year (Forest of Dean 20.6%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 43% moved to another school, 57% 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. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.

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 Gloucestershire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 9 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 11 (0.2 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 Gloucestershire (the council area this school is in), 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: 6.4%
Persistently absent pupils: 17.5%
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: 27.3%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 15.9%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Other difficulty or disability: 4 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 6 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 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 January 2026

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

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Strong 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 Requires improvement (2023). 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: 50% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 12 percentage points below the Forest of Dean average (62%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 43% against an expected 67%)
3-year average (expected standard): 43%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 75% · Writing 75% · Maths 50% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 63%
Average test scores: reading 107, maths 101
Based on: 8 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 schoolForest of Dean 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 12 percentage points below the Forest of Dean average (62%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 30th of 40 junior and primary schools in the area

=30Littledean Church of England Primary School50%
=30Lydbrook Primary School50%
=30Soudley School50%
=33Pillowell Community Primary School44%
=33Redmarley Church of England Primary School44%

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

#1Primrose Hill Church of England Primary Academy90%
#2Steam Mills Primary School87%
=3Aylburton Church of England Primary School83%
=3Parkend Primary School83%
#5Huntley Church of England Primary School82%
#6Mitcheldean Endowed Primary School74%
=7Tutshill Church of England Primary School73%
=7Yorkley Primary School73%
=9Coalway Primary School72%
=9Forest View Primary School72%
=11Pauntley Church of England Primary School71%
=11Staunton and Corse Church of England Primary School71%
#13Lift Offa's Mead69%
#14Severnbanks Primary School68%
=15Ann Cam Church of England Primary School67%
=15Bromesberrow St Mary's Church of England Primary School67%
=15Hope Brook CofE Primary School67%
=15Newnham St Peter's Church of England Primary School67%
=15Tibberton Community Primary School and Early Years67%
=20Lydney Church of England Community School65%
=20Woodside Primary School65%
#22St Briavels Parochial Church of England Primary School63%
#23St White's Primary School61%
#24Berry Hill Primary School60%
#25Westbury-on-Severn Church of England Primary School57%
=26Drybrook Primary School56%
=26Ellwood Primary School56%
#28St John's C of E Academy54%
#29Woolaston Primary School52%
=30Littledean Church of England Primary School50%
=30Lydbrook Primary School50%
=30Soudley School50%
=33Pillowell Community Primary School44%
=33Redmarley Church of England Primary School44%
#35Churcham Primary School43%
#36Bream Church of England Primary School41%
#37Hartpury Church of England Primary School33%
#38Picklenash Junior School29%
#39Ruardean Church of England Primary School23%
#40Blakeney Primary School17%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £14,868 (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.

1st of 41 primary schools in Forest of Dean for spending per pupil

#1Soudley School£14,868
#2Walmore Hill Primary School£13,899
#3English Bicknor Church of England Primary School£12,881

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

#1Soudley School£14,868
#2Walmore Hill Primary School£13,899
#3English Bicknor Church of England Primary School£12,881
#4Westbury-on-Severn Church of England Primary School£11,995
#5Clearwell Church of England Primary School£11,895
#6Pauntley Church of England Primary School£11,432
#7Littledean Church of England Primary School£11,372
#8Ruardean Church of England Primary School£11,204
#9Churcham Primary School£10,203
#10Lydbrook Primary School£9,779
#11Parkend Primary School£9,275
#12Blakeney Primary School£8,860
#13Bromesberrow St Mary's Church of England Primary School£8,793
#14Lift Offa's Mead£8,080
#15St Briavels Parochial Church of England Primary School£7,897
#16Steam Mills Primary School£7,841
#17Ann Cam Church of England Primary School£7,696
#18Woolaston Primary School£7,659
#19Drybrook Primary School£7,597
#20Woodside Primary School£7,582
#21Hartpury Church of England Primary School£7,406
#22St John's C of E Academy£7,260
#23Severnbanks Primary School£7,191
#24Huntley Church of England Primary School£7,098
#25Bream Church of England Primary School£7,006
#26St White's Primary School£6,991
#27Hope Brook CofE Primary School£6,889
#28Redmarley Church of England Primary School£6,854
#29Lydney Church of England Community School£6,833
#30Newnham St Peter's Church of England Primary School£6,827
#31Staunton and Corse Church of England Primary School£6,748
#32Coalway Primary School£6,662
#33Aylburton Church of England Primary School£6,592
#34Mitcheldean Endowed Primary School£6,460
#35Berry Hill Primary School£6,434
#36Ellwood Primary School£6,387
#37Forest View Primary School£6,274
#38Tibberton Community Primary School and Early Years£6,255
#39Yorkley Primary School£6,157
#40Primrose Hill Church of England Primary Academy£5,981
#41Tutshill Church of England Primary School£5,500

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

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