St Francis CE Primary School

What St Francis CE Primary School does

St Francis Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is a single-site state-funded primary school located on Aiken Road in the Taw Hill area of North Swindon, England. Established in September 2004, it operates as a two-form entry school serving children from Nursery through Year 6 (ages 3-11) across approximately 14 mainstream classes, supported by a staff team of roughly 50-plus including Senior Leadership, Phase Leaders, class teachers, teaching assistants, and administration. The school delivers the full National Curriculum with published schemes including Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised (phonics) and Maths No Problem (maths mastery), supplemented by Forest School, swimming for Years 3-4, and a Christian values programme drawing on the Diocese of Gloucester's Kintsugi spirituality framework. Its Ofsted inspection (2024) and SIAMs inspection (14 October 2024) maintain its regulatory standing as a Church of England Voluntary Aided school.

The school's revenue model is dominated by government per-pupil funding routed through Swindon Borough Council, supplemented by ring-fenced grants (Pupil Premium, Sports Premium of approximately £19,500 per annum), income from paid school meals (Reception through Year 2 receive free meals under the universal infant free school meal policy; Year 3-6 pay), and ancillary services. Wraparound childcare (breakfast, after-school, holiday club) is operated on-site by partner Funrise Ltd under a separate commercial arrangement with publicly listed prices. There is no tuition fee; demand is captured via the Swindon Borough Council admissions portal for Reception places and direct applications for Nursery. Communication with parents runs primarily through Seesaw and PA Connect (Parentapps), supported by class WhatsApp groups and a school website.

The institution operates as a not-for-profit educational establishment governed by a Governing Body including Foundation Governors, accountable to the Diocese of Gloucester and Swindon Borough Council. There is no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no equity capital structure; growth is constrained by physical capacity (one site) and statutory admissions policy rather than capital-raising. The school pursues a community-led go-to-market motion anchored in church partnerships (St John's Haydon Wick, The Well), PTA activity (F.A.I.T.H), open days, and a virtual tour on the website, with no commercial marketing spend.

Name

St Francis CE Primary School

Legal name

St Francis Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Website

https://stfrancis.swindon.sch.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

St Francis CE Primary School is a state-funded Church of England Voluntary Aided primary school in North Swindon, serving roughly 420-480 pupils aged 3-11 across Nursery through Year 6, funded by per-pupil government grants and supported by wraparound childcare partner Funrise.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Primary Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Educational Services (61)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAJAAAB

Public Elementary Schools

Education/K–12 / Primary & Secondary Education/Public K–12 Schools & Districts

SECONDARYEDACABAA

General Preschools (Play-Based)

Education/Early Childhood Education/Preschools & Pre-K Programs

Keywords

• Primary education services
• Church of england school
• Early years education
• Primary school curriculum
• Before and after school care

Headquarters

HQ city

Swindon

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Per-Pupil Funding: Main revenue stream from government funding allocated per pupil on roll, provided by central government through local authority. Additional funding includes Pupil Premium for eligible pupils, Sports Premium for PE provision (approximately £19,500 per annum).
2. School Meals (The Eatery): In-house kitchen provides freshly cooked meals. Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 receive free school meals. Year 3-6 pay for hot meals. Revenue from paid school meals.
3. Funrise Before and After School Care: On-site childcare service (run by Funrise Ltd) providing breakfast (7:30am-9am), after school (3:20pm-6pm), and holiday club. Breakfast at £6.00, After School at £13.00, Holiday Club at £28 full day or £19 half day. Ofsted approved.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

St Francis CE Primary School provides full-time primary education for children from Nursery through Year 6 (ages 3-11) in North Swindon, following the National Curriculum 2014. As a Church of England Voluntary Aided school, it delivers core subjects, foundation subjects, and a Christian ethos programme, supplemented by before/after school childcare, meals, and extracurricular clubs.

Product overview

St Francis CE Primary School is a Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School located in Swindon, providing education for children from Nursery through to Year 6 (ages 3-11). The school opened in September 2004 and operates as a two-class entry primary. Its core educational offering is a comprehensive primary education programme following the National Curriculum 2014, encompassing core subjects (English, Mathematics, Science) and foundation subjects. The school enhances its core curriculum with integrated support services including SEN provision, Pupil Premium support, and wellbeing programmes. Additional services include Funrise childcare (breakfast, after-school and holiday club), a diverse after-school clubs programme, PE and sports activities with swimming instruction, and a Christian values and spirituality programme. The school uses digital platforms including Seesaw for parent-teacher communication.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• F.A.I.T.H: St Francis School PTA (Parent-Teacher Association) responsible for organizing school events and fundraising activities.
• Funrise

Products and services

• Primary Education Services
• Funrise Breakfast, After School and Holiday Club
• After-School Clubs Programme
• PE and Sport Programme
• School Meals (The Eatery)
• Special Educational Needs (SEN) Support
• Wellbeing and Mental Health Programme
• Christian Values and Spirituality Programme

Quantifiable outcome

• Gold School Sports Accreditation Award achieved (2023)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• St John's Haydon Wick ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt Francis maintains a strong and positive relationship with St John's Haydon Wick church. Revd Patches Chabala serves as clergy contact. The church is located at Cnr Thames Avenue & Westfield Way, Haydon Wick, Swindon, SN25 1QP. The partnership supports the school's Christian ethos and provides pastoral care.
• The Well ChurchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Well is a new Church of England church for North Swindon which meets at St Francis School on Sundays at 10:30am. Works alongside St John's Haydon Wick and other local churches. Services are informal, family-friendly and contemporary with fun groups for children and youth. Also runs 'Little Wellies' parent/toddler group at St Francis on Thursday mornings.
• Funrise LtdcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFunrise Ltd operates the on-site before and after school care at St Francis School. Owner: Sarah Barbato, Manager: Lorraine Ford, Deputy Manager: Jayne Wade. Provides breakfast club, after school club, and holiday club. Ofsted approved childcare service located within the school premises.
• Swindon Parent Partnership Service (SENDIASS)minorOthersLocal advice and guidance service for Special Educational Needs. Provides links to local and national organisations for families of children with SEND.
• Speech and Language Therapy (Swindon NHS)minorOthersChildren's Speech and Language Therapy service concerned with assessing and treating speech, language and communication difficulties. Referrals accepted from parents, health visitors, class teachers, or staff at local children's centres.
• Educational Psychology ServiceminorOthersEducational Psychologists work with parents, carers, and teachers to help support children and young people. They look at how children develop and how they can best be supported when learning.
• Swindon Visual Support ServicesminorOthersTeam offers services including assessments, advice, home visits, and one-to-one support for children with visual impairment. Based at Uplands School Multi-Agency Unit.
• Hearing Impairment TeamminorOthersFour Advisory Teachers qualified in teaching deaf children provide support for all deaf children and young people with access to hearing aids or cochlear Implants, their families, and educational settings within Swindon.
• Nyland Campus Outreach Team (NCOT)minorOthersProvides range of support for pupils with Behavioural, Emotional or Social difficulties. Services include outreach support, short term provision at 'Assessment Class' (2 days/week for max 2 terms), and Mountford Manor SRP short term provision.
• Targeted Mental Health Service (TaMHS)minorOthersTier 2 early intervention service ensuring emotional and mental health needs of children are supported. Team consists of experienced practitioners delivering evidence-based therapeutic intervention (4-6 sessions).
• Diocese of GloucestercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe school follows ideas developed by the Education Department at the Diocese of Gloucester for exploring spirituality. This framework includes the Kintsugi metaphor language of spirituality with 'wows', 'ows', and 'nows' of life.
• PA Connect (Parentapps)coreTechnology or IntegrationThe school uses Parentapps Connect as part of parental communication strategy. App includes Messages, Consent Forms, Newsletters, Term Dates, and school dinner booking features.
• Swindon Young CarersminorOthersSupport service for children aged 5-18 who help look after someone at home with illness or disability. School promotes awareness and refers families to Swindon Carers Centre.
• Soccer ExcellenceminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExternal sports coaching provider running Hockey club (Years 3-6) and Football club (Years 1-2) as part of after-school sports provision.
• Premier SportsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExternal sports coaching provider running Gymnastics (Years 3-6) and Friday Football (Years 5-6) as part of after-school sports provision.
• Swindon DanceminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExternal dance provider running Dance club (Years 3-6) on Fridays as part of after-school sports provision.
• Cotswold CutlassminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExternal fencing provider running Fencing club (Years 3-6) on Friday mornings as part of after-school sports provision.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Bright Horizons Family Solutions: Large UK operator of nursery and before/after-school childcare, comparable to the Funrise wraparound model embedded at St Francis. Useful as a scaled peer for the on-site childcare revenue stream and operating economics.
• Diocese of Gloucester Academies Trust: Diocesan multi-academy trust affiliated with the same Diocese of Gloucester that governs St Francis CE Primary School. Operates Church of England schools across Gloucestershire and Swindon using the same diocesan frameworks (e.g., Kintsugi spirituality approach), making it the most directly comparable institutional peer.
• Reach Academy Feltham: Small UK primary school with a values-led, community-embedded operating model. Comparable in scale (single-site, comprehensive curriculum) and ethos-driven positioning, though operating under different governance.

Others

• Premier Sports: External sports coaching provider that already runs Gymnastics and Friday Football clubs at St Francis. Comparable as a third-party extracurricular delivery model embedded within primary schools.
• Parentapps (PA Connect): Provider of the PA Connect app used at St Francis for parent communication, consent forms, dinner bookings and newsletters. Comparable as the SaaS platform underpinning the school's parent-engagement operations.

Regional players

• White Horse Federation: Multi-academy trust based in the Swindon/Wiltshire region operating a portfolio of primary schools. Directly comparable as a local primary-school sponsor/MAT competing for the same pupil pool in North Swindon.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/st-francis-ce-primary-school

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about St Francis CE Primary School