St Francis Church of England Primary School
General Information
- Address: Horspath Road, Cowley, Oxford, OX4 2QT – View on map
- Phone: 01865468190
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Fleur Belcher Lorraine Wood
- Age range: 3-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 19 families put it first for 19 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: 2025 9 · 2026 10
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Church of England
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 42
- % eligible for free school meals: 23.6%
- Pupil mix: 8 in 10 (similar to the Oxford average)
- English as an additional language: 44% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 5.9% a year (Oxford 17.9%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 100% moved to another school, 0% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
- 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 Oxfordshire: 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: 18 (0.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 2 (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 Oxfordshire (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: 6.5%
- Persistently absent pupils: 17.2%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 21.3%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 7.1%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Speech, language and communications needs: 23 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 10 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 7 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 3 pupils
- Multi-sensory impairment: 1 pupil
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Speech, language and communications needs: 7 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 3 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
- Physical disability: 2 pupils
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2021 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 55% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 9 percentage points below the Oxford average (64%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (3-year average 56% against an expected 61%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 56%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 68% · Writing 71% · Maths 68% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 52%
- Average test scores: reading 105, maths 103
- Based on: 31 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 27th of 33 junior and primary schools in the area
- #26Orchard Meadow Primary School56%
- =27Barton Park Primary School55%
- =27St Francis Church of England Primary School55%
- #29St Ebbe's Church of England Aided Primary School54%
- #30St Christopher's Church of England School, Cowley53%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
17th of 29 primary schools in Oxford for Ofsted rating
- #15St Christopher's Church of England School, CowleyGood
- #16St Ebbe's Church of England Aided Primary SchoolGood
- #17St Francis Church of England Primary SchoolGood
- #18St Frideswide Church of England Primary SchoolGood
- #19St John Fisher Catholic Primary School, LittlemoreGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £6,890 (2024-25)
19th of 33 primary schools in Oxford for spending per pupil
- #17John Henry Newman Academy£7,030
- #18Tyndale Community School£6,921
- #19St Francis Church of England Primary School£6,890
- #20Church Cowley St James Church of England Primary School£6,817
- #21Wolvercote Primary School£6,767
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)