Whitmore Park Primary School

Whitmore Park Primary is a nurturing, welcoming school where pupils are known well and generally behave well. Inspectors found strong personal development and early years provision, including a clear focus on healthy relationships, safety, British values and a wide range of clubs, trips and leadership opportunities. Safeguarding is effective, and the school has reviewed its curriculum with greater ambition and consistency while developing a positive reading culture. However, the school requires improvement in quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management. Published outcomes had dipped, some subjects are still in development, and teaching does not consistently check pupils’ understanding or adapt work well enough, especially for pupils with SEND. Early reading is inconsistent for pupils who need extra support. Attendance has been too low for too long, particularly for vulnerable pupils, and behaviour approaches are not applied consistently. Leaders’ evaluation of impact lacks precision, and recent leadership transition and support for another local school have affected capacity. This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. The school is part of The Affinity Federation and has many new leaders, so some changes have had limited time to take effect. No overall effectiveness grade was given under the post-September 2024 arrangements.

Strengths

• Nurturing and inclusive ethos where all pupils feel welcome and valued
• Adults know pupils well and support them to succeed and be happy
• Pupils generally behave well and understand expectations for treating each other
• Strong personal development curriculum covering healthy relationships, British values, cultures, safety and health
• Impressive range of extra-curricular activities, trips and residentials, with uptake monitored
• Strong early years provision with prompt starting points and language-rich learning
• Ambitious curriculum review with clearer key knowledge in many subjects
• Positive reading culture with high-quality texts and a considered book list
• Pupils value junior leadership positions and enrichment opportunities
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Governors are committed and discharge statutory duties
• Staff report leaders are mindful of workload

Areas for Improvement

• Attendance remains too low, especially for vulnerable pupils
• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent and some subjects are still in development
• Teachers do not consistently check pupils’ understanding, so misconceptions and gaps persist
• Early reading and phonics delivery are inconsistent, especially for weaker readers
• Pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they should because support information is not used systematically
• Behaviour management approaches lack clarity and consistency among some staff
• Oversight of unkind behaviour between pupils is not always clear
• Leaders’ evaluation of provision lacks precision, leaving governors unclear about impact
• Recent leadership transition and support for another school have limited capacity and impact
• Some parents raised concerns about historical SEND provision and aspects of behaviour

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Whitmore Park Primary School attended 93.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 1.9% of pupils at Whitmore Park Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Whitmore Park Primary School had 23.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.1% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 18.9% of pupils at Whitmore Park Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Whitmore Park Primary School received £6,624 and spent £6,961 for each of its 662 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £306,000 (£462 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

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• Secondary Schools

All schools in Coventry · Coventry local authority: places and applications

What is Whitmore Park Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Whitmore Park Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in October 2024.

When was Whitmore Park Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Whitmore Park Primary School was last inspected in October 2024.

How many pupils does Whitmore Park Primary School have?

Whitmore Park Primary School has 677 pupils on roll.

What age range does Whitmore Park Primary School cover?

Whitmore Park Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Whitmore Park Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 59% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Whitmore Park Primary School?

Whitmore Park Primary School is at Halford Lane, Coventry, West Midlands, CV6 2HG.