Polden Bower School
Bower Lane, Bridgwater, TA6 4GU
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Foundation special school
- Ages
- 4 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Helen Farnell (Executive Headteacher) Ryan Parker-Binns (Head of School)
- Federation
- Bower Learning Partnership
- SEN provision
- VI - Visual Impairment, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Bridgwater
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 200
- Pupils on roll
- 260
- URN
- 123938
- Local authority
- Somerset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01278496386
About this school
Polden Bower School is a foundation special school in Bridgwater. It teaches children aged 4 to 19 and has 260 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Polden Bower School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 15 | 14 | 13 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
| Reading progress | -8.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -7.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -8.10 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 13 | 21 | 17 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | 0.5 |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | 0.0 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Polden Bower School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Somerset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% | 54.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 55.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 57.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 194 |
| 2023/24 | 223 |
| 2024/25 | 247 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 44.1%
- English as an additional language
- 8.9%
- Overall absence
- 10.46%
- Persistent absence
- 27.31%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Petherton Park School2.3 miles
Special schools · Somerset
-
Inaura School4.9 miles
Special schools · Bridgwater
-
Cambian Somerset School6.9 miles
Special schools · Taunton
-
King's College Prep7.0 miles
Independent schools · Taunton
-
Selworthy Special School7.1 miles
Academies · Taunton
Other schools in Bridgwater
- Inaura School Special schools
- Ashcott Primary School Primary
- Cannington Church of England Primary School Primary
- Catcott Primary School Primary
- Eastover Primary School Primary
- Enmore Church of England Primary School Primary
- Hamp Academy Primary
- Hamp Nursery and Infants' School Primary
- Kingsmoor Primary School Primary
- Middlezoy Primary School Primary
- Nether Stowey Church of England Primary School Primary
- North Newton Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Polden Bower School teach?
- Polden Bower School teaches children aged 4 to 19. It is a special school in Bridgwater.
- Who is the headteacher of Polden Bower School?
- The headteacher of Polden Bower School is Mrs Helen Farnell (Executive Headteacher) Ryan Parker-Binns (Head of School), as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Polden Bower School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Polden Bower School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Polden Bower School?
- Polden Bower School has 260 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 19.
- Is Polden Bower School full?
- Polden Bower School has capacity for 200 pupils and 260 on roll (130%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Polden Bower School a faith school?
- No. Polden Bower School has no designated religious character.
- Is Polden Bower School part of an academy trust?
- Polden Bower School is part of the Bower Learning Partnership federation. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Polden Bower School have?
- The schools register lists Polden Bower School's special educational needs provision as: VI - Visual Impairment; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Polden Bower School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Polden Bower School's absence rate?
- Polden Bower School's overall absence rate is 10.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Polden Bower School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Polden Bower School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.