Polden Bower School
Catchment Area, Reviews and Key Information

Primary & Secondary
Post 16
Special school
PUPILS
194
AGES
4 - 19
GENDER
Mixed
TYPE
Foundation special school

Can I Get My Child Into This School?

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This pupil heat map shows where pupils currently attending the school live.
The concentration of pupils shows likelihood of admission based on distance criteria

Source: All attending pupils National School Census Data, ONS
0845 456 4038

This School Guide heat map has been plotted using official pupil data taken from the last School Census collected by the Department for Education. It is a visualisation of where pupils lived at the time of the annual School Census.

Our heat maps use groups of postcodes, not individual postcodes, and have naturally soft edges. All pupils are included in the mapping (i.e. children with siblings already at the school, high priority pupils and selective and/or religious admissions) but we may have removed statistical ‘outliers’ with more remote postcodes that do not reflect majority admissions.

For some schools, the heat map may be a useful indicator of the catchment area but our heat maps are not the same as catchment area maps. Catchment area maps, published by the school or local authority, are based on geographical admissions criteria and show actual cut-off distances and pre-defined catchment areas for a single admission year.

This information is provided as a guide only. The criteria in which schools use to allocate places in the event that they are oversubscribed can and do vary between schools and over time. These criteria can include distance from the school and sometimes specific catchment areas but can also include, amongst others, priority for siblings, children of a particular faith or specific feeder schools. Living in an area where children have previously attended a school does not guarantee admission to the school in future years. Always check with the school’s own admission authority for the current admission arrangements.

3 steps to help parents gather catchment information for a school:

  1. Look at our school catchment area guide for more information on heat maps. They give a useful indicator of the general areas that admit pupils to the school. This visualisation is based on all attending pupils present at the time of the annual School Census.
  2. Use the link to the Local Authority Contact (above) to find catchment area information based on a single admission year. This is very important if you are considering applying to a school.
  3. On each school page, use the link to visit the school website and find information on individual school admissions criteria. Geographical criteria are only applied after pupils have been admitted on higher priority criteria such as Looked After Children, SEN, siblings, etc.

How Does The School Perform?

Good
NATIONAL AVG. 2.09
Ofsted Inspection
(14/03/2019)
Full Report - All Reports

Special schools provide a unique and distinctive educational environment to meet the needs of the pupils in their community. Undertaking standard tests may not be appropriate and we do not show performance data for special schools.

View exam results via the link below and contact the school to ask about measuring pupil progress.

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6.2:1
NATIONAL AVG. 19.9:1
Pupil/Teacher ratio
39.4%
NATIONAL AVG. 17.7%
Persistent Absence
9.3%
NATIONAL AVG. 22.0%
Pupils first language
not English
45.2%
NATIONAL AVG. 25.9%
Free school meals
Bower Lane
Elmwood School
Bridgwater
TA6 4GU
01278496386

School Description

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the previous inspection. Since your appointment in September 2016, you have overseen significant changes to improve the quality of education that Elmwood School provides. The number of pupils on roll has continued to grow. There are now 88 pupils on roll, with more waiting to join. Many new members of staff have joined the school, including three new senior leaders and several teaching assistants. Shortly after starting at the school, you reorganised the middle leadership roles, defining their roles and responsibilities clearly and appointing staff to these posts. Appointing leaders for English and mathematics has allowed a greater focus on the quality of teaching in these areas and monitoring pupils’ progress. This was an area identified at the previous inspection as needing further work. Pupils continue to benefit from individualised programmes which ensure that they make strong progress in their personal, social and emotional development alongside their academic studies. As a staff team, you have overhauled the curriculum to create clear pathways for pupils. In part, this addressed another of the areas for improvement from the inspection in 2015. Consequently, pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning are very strong. They are keen to work independently whenever possible.

Polden Bower School Parent Reviews



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