Wells Town

Summary

Wells Town (E02006054) is part of Somerset local authority (view on map). Wells Town has an approximate population of 8,400 people, of which 14% are children 15 years old and under. It is classified as "urban: further from a major town or city".

Wells Town neighbours Draycott, Westbury & Wookey, and Oakhill, Horrington & Chewton Mendip.

Guidance and data sources

Local area pages are based on the middle-layer super output areas (MSOAs) distributed across the country. MSOAs comprise between 2,000 and 6,000 households and have a resident population of, generally, between 5,000 and 15,000 people. MSOAs fit within local authorities. For each area, descriptive statistics are compared with local authority and national averages. For more information about MSOAs, please visit the Office for National Statistics website.

The data displayed is sourced from:


Deprivation

Wells Town is the 45th least deprived area in Somerset (out of 71) with 31% of children living in low-income families, compared to 30% across Somerset and 38% nationally.

Data source


State-funded pupil characteristics

Information acquired from the school census.

Free school meals

In Wells Town, 19% of state-funded pupils are eligible for free school meals, compared to 22% in Somerset and 27% nationally.


Contents

Percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals

Table showing the percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals

% in Wells Town % in Somerset % in England
Eligible for free school meals 19% 22% 27%
Not eligible for free school meals 81% 78% 73%

Data source


Special educational needs

In Wells Town, 18% of pupils in state-funded settings have special educational needs (SEN), compared to 19% in Somerset, and 19% nationally.

This includes the number of pupils with an education, health and care (EHC) plan and the number of pupils with SEN support.


Contents

Percentage of pupils with special educational needs in schools

Table showing the percentage of pupils with special educational needs in schools

% in Wells Town % in Somerset % in England
No special educational needs 81% 81% 81%
Receiving special educational needs support 14% 14% 14%
With an education, health, and care plan (EHCP) 4% 5% 5%

Data source


Ethnicity

In Wells Town, 6% of pupils are from a minority ethnic background, compared to 12% in Somerset, and 33% nationally.

Percentages may not sum to 100%, due to small values being suppressed.


Contents

Percentage of pupils by major ethnic groups

Table

% in Wells Town % in Somerset % in England
White 92% 88% 67%
Asian 2% 3% 14%
Black 2% 7%
Mixed 3% 3% 7%
Other 1% 3%
Not known 1% 3% 2%

Data source

English as an additional language

The percentage of pupils in Wells Town with English as an additional language is 9%, compared with 11% in Somerset, and 22% nationally.

Numbers may not sum to 100%, due to a small number of pupils with an unclassified language.


Contents

Percentage of pupils with English as an additional language

Table

% in Wells Town % in Somerset % in England
Known or believed to be other than English 9% 11% 22%
Known or believed to be English 90% 89% 78%

Data source



Provider information

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Registered childcare providers

Wells Town has 8 registered childcare providers.

Type Number in Wells Town
All childcare providers 8
Childminders 6
Pre-school/day nursery/out-of-school care 2

In Wells Town, there has been 1 full inspection of childcare providers since the introduction of the renewed education inspection framework in November 2025.

Under the renewed education inspection framework, childcare providers are evaluated on the following areas:

  • Achievement
  • Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines
  • Children's welfare and wellbeing
  • Curriculum and teaching
  • Inclusion
  • Leadership and governance

We use a 5-point scale to grade different areas of a provider’s work. The evaluation scale for each evaluation area, other than safeguarding, is:

  • Exceptional
  • Strong standard
  • Expected standard
  • Needs attention
  • Urgent improvement

Achievement: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: 1 was graded 'strong standard' (of 1).

Children's welfare and well-being: 1 was graded 'strong standard' (of 1).

Curriculum and teaching: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).

Inclusion: 1 was graded 'strong standard' (of 1).

Leadership and governance: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).

The tables below show the outcomes of inspections of childcare providers in Wells Town. The tables are split by provider type, and show the number of inspections that have taken place for each area, and the outcomes of those inspections.

Contents

All childcare

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Achievement 1 0 0 1 0 0
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines 1 0 1 0 0 0
Children's welfare and well-being 1 0 1 0 0 0
Curriculum and teaching 1 0 0 1 0 0
Inclusion 1 0 1 0 0 0
Leadership and governance 1 0 0 1 0 0

Childminders

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Achievement 1 0 0 1 0 0
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines 1 0 1 0 0 0
Children's welfare and well-being 1 0 1 0 0 0
Curriculum and teaching 1 0 0 1 0 0
Inclusion 1 0 1 0 0 0
Leadership and governance 1 0 0 1 0 0

Full day care

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement

Sessional day care

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement

Out-of-school day care

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement

Other childcare

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement

Data source


State-funded schools

Wells Town has 4 state-funded schools.

Type Number in Wells Town
All state-funded schools 4
Nursery schools 0
Primary and all-through schools 3
Secondary and all-through schools 1
Special schools 0
Registered alternative provision 0

There have been no inspections of schools in Wells Town since the introduction of the renewed education inspection framework in November 2025.

Data sources: