St Thomas of Canterbury CofE Primary School
General Information
- Address: Eastington Road, Lapford, Crediton, EX17 6QE – View on map
- Phone: 0136383292
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Jessica Wright
- Age range: 2-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 5 families put it first for 5 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: 2023 9 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Anglican/Church of England
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 15
- % eligible for free school meals: 33.3%
- Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (more mixed than the Mid Devon average)
- English as an additional language: 2% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 31.8% a year (Mid Devon 15.4%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 76% moved to another school, 24% 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
Across Devon: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 8 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
- Suspensions for bullying: 6 (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 Devon (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: 4.0%
- Persistently absent pupils: 5.1%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 15.7%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 5.9%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
- SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 3 pupils
- Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
- Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Speech, language and communications needs: 2 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Ofsted report card June 2026
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 Strong 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.
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 56% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 11% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: in line with the Mid Devon average (57%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 41%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 89% · Writing 67% · Maths 56% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 67%
- Average test scores: reading 110, maths 101
- Based on: 9 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 19th of 34 junior and primary schools in the area
- =19Bolham Community Primary School56%
- =19Silverton Church of England Primary School56%
- =19St Thomas of Canterbury CofE Primary School56%
- =19Willowbank Primary School56%
- #23Two Moors Primary School55%
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £12,245 (2024-25)
1st of 30 primary schools in Mid Devon for spending per pupil
- #1St Thomas of Canterbury CofE Primary School£12,245
- #2Copplestone Primary School£10,156
- #3Yeoford Community Primary School£10,000
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)