Polden Bower School
Special schoolPolden Bower School is a special school in Somerset, for pupils aged 4 to 19. It had 260 pupils at the school census in January 2026.
Ofsted
Latest inspections as at 30 September 2026Good (overall), May 2024
- Inspection
- Graded inspection, 21 May 2024
- Overall effectiveness
- Good
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
Outcomes as Ofsted published them. Report cards (from November 2025) give no overall grade, and grades under different frameworks can’t be compared.
Results
Department for EducationIn 2024/25, 0% of pupils at Polden Bower School met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 57% in Somerset and 62% in England.
0% reached the higher standard (8% in England).
In 2025/26, the average Attainment 8 score at Polden Bower School was 0.2, against 43.4 in Somerset and 46.2 in England.
0% of its pupils got grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs (46.3% in England).
End of primary school (KS2)
2024/25| Measure | This school | Somerset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 57% | 62% |
| Reached the higher standard | 0% | 7% | 8% |
| Average scaled score in reading | Does not apply to this school | 105 | 106 |
| Average scaled score in maths | Does not apply to this school | 103 | 105 |
End of secondary school (KS4, GCSEs)
2025/26, provisional| Measure | This school | Somerset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Attainment 8 score | 0.2 | 43.4 | 46.2 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 39.7% | 46.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 60.3% | 64.8% |
| Pupils at the end of KS4 | 22 | – | – |
- Polden Bower School teaches pupils with needs that most schools' pupils do not have, often in very small year groups, so its results are not a fair comparison with mainstream schools. They are not shown on the map.
- Progress scores from KS1 to KS2 were not published for 2024/25, because the KS1 tests that give the starting point were cancelled in 2020 and 2021.
- The 2025/26 figures are provisional. The Department for Education publishes revised ones later in the school year.
- Progress 8 cannot be worked out for 2025/26, because the KS2 tests that give the starting point were cancelled in 2020 and 2021.
- Results reflect the pupils a school admits as well as its teaching, and a year's results can move a lot in a small school.
Schools nearby
In a straight line- Robert Blake AcademySecondary. Requires improvement (overall), October 2023, before the school changed50 m
- Hamp Nursery and Infants' SchoolPrimary. School remains Good, April 2023120 m
- Hamp AcademyPrimary. Good (overall), June 2022. 49% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)260 m
- Westover Green Community School and Autism CentrePrimary. Report card, March 2026: safeguarding met. 59% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)940 m
- Somerset Bridge Primary SchoolPrimary. Good (overall), March 2024. 73% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)1 km
- Northgate Primary SchoolPrimary. Report card, June 2026: safeguarding met. 79% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)1.2 km
Admissions and catchments are set by councils and schools, which Open Index doesn’t map. Every school in Somerset
Where these figures come from
- Schools: the school lists of the Department for Education, the Welsh Government and the Scottish Government, with Ofsted’s latest inspections for England.
- Results: the Department for Education’s school performance tables (Open Government Licence).