SCHOOL PROFILE

St James' Church of England Primary Academy

Primary Academy converter URN 140760
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 420 Published school capacity
Capacity used 96.2% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 4 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

25 January 2023
Latest published outcome School remains Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy converter
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Church of England
Local authority Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
Trust DIOCESE OF CHICHESTER ACADEMY TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 404 404 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 194 48.0% of pupils
Male pupils 210 52.0% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

16.6%
8.2 pts below England
School 16.6%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 19.5%
South West 20.1%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

23.0%
2.7 pts above England
School 23.0%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 16.9%
South West 10.7%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

1.7%
0.7 pts above England
School 1.7%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 4.1%
South West 1.5%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
69.8%
282
African
10.1%
41
Any other White background
7.9%
32
Any other Mixed background
2.2%
9
White and Black Caribbean
2.2%
9
Indian
2.0%
8
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 22.0% 89 of 404 pupils
1.2 pts above England England: 20.8%
School 22.0%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 21.4%
South West 21.7%
England 20.8%
SEN support 17.6% 71 pupils
England 14.8% 2.8 pts above
EHC plans 4.5% 18 pupils
England 6.0% 1.6 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 49
Social, emotional & mental health 26
Other difficulty or disability 5
Autistic spectrum disorder 4
Physical disability 4
Vision impairment 1

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

68.0% 7.6 pts above England
School 68.0%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 59.0%
South West 58.4%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

81.0%

7.2 pts above England

School 81.0%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 71.6%
South West 73.1%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

81.0%

10.7 pts above England

School 81.0%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 69.7%
South West 69.4%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

80.0%

8.0 pts above England

School 80.0%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 69.9%
South West 70.5%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

4.84%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

1.38 pts lower than England
School 4.84%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 6.58%
South West 6.20%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

10.34%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

5.48 pts lower than England
School 10.34%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 16.30%
South West 15.08%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.84%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

0.97 pts lower than England
School 0.84%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 2.12%
South West 1.90%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

96.2% 8.0 pts above England
St James' Church of England Primary Academy
96.2%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
88.7%
South West
84.2%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information