Holywell CofE Primary School

Holywell C of E Primary School is a safe, harmonious and welcoming school where pupils enjoy learning and behave well. Inspectors found the school performing well across the board: children get off to a positive start in early years, pupils become confident readers, most achieve well by the end of Year 6, and the recently revised curriculum is ambitious and being taken on positively by staff. The school's Christian ethos, strong personal development programme and focus on well-being are notable strengths, and pupils with SEND are generally well identified and supported. Safeguarding is effective and attendance work with families is strong. The main area for improvement is the depth of the curriculum. Leaders have updated what pupils should learn, but the precise depth of knowledge expected is not always clear enough, so some work does not extend pupils as far as it could. In some subjects, assessment information is not used sharply enough to adapt tasks or fill gaps, and a few pupils, including some with SEND, do not always get work that is precisely matched to their needs. Behaviour is good and improving, with a new approach helping pupils manage thoughts and feelings. This was the school's first graded inspection in 11 years; it had previously been judged outstanding but had not been inspected under section 5 since 2013, and received an ungraded inspection in 2020. Under the current framework no overall effectiveness grade is awarded, but all key judgements were good.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy school and engage positively in learning.
• Children in early years settle quickly and make a positive start.
• Pupils become confident readers, with regular practice and books matched to ability.
• Most pupils achieve well in national assessments by the time they leave.
• The curriculum is suitably ambitious and has been updated without increasing staff workload.
• Effective interventions support pupils who need help, including pupils with SEND.
• Pupils behave well; lessons are calm and orderly and poor behaviour is rare and decreasing.
• The Christian ethos helps create a safe and harmonious school community.
• Pupils' well-being is prioritised, with trained staff overseeing mental and physical health.
• The personal development programme teaches pupils about cultures, religions, democracy and discrimination.
• Pupils develop a moral compass through the school's twelve values and show respectful behaviour.
• Governors provide appropriate challenge and support and oversee safeguarding effectively.
• The school works effectively with families to ensure regular attendance.
• Pupils with SEND have tailored support plans and external advice is acted on.
• Early years has a strong focus on language, listening and early mathematical concepts.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum does not yet signpost clearly enough the depth of knowledge pupils need to secure.
• In some subjects, pupils are not learning with the depth leaders intend.
• Work in some subjects is not sufficiently effective in extending pupils' learning.
• Staff do not always use checks on prior knowledge to shape next steps precisely.
• Learning activities are sometimes not adapted sharply enough to address gaps or extend knowledge.
• Some pupils, including some with SEND, are not achieving what they are fully capable of.
• Work is not always precisely tailored to meet pupils' specific needs.
• In a few cases, work set for pupils with SEND is not closely matched to their needs quickly enough.
• Governors are still developing strategies to monitor the curriculum as effectively as possible.

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 Holywell CofE Primary School attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.3% 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, 1.0% of pupils at Holywell CofE 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 Holywell CofE Primary School had 17.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 25.3% 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, 15.5% of pupils at Holywell CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.6% 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 Holywell CofE Primary School received £6,754 and spent £6,974 for each of its 193 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £72,000 (-£371 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).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in St Ives · Cambridgeshire local authority: places and applications

What is Holywell CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Holywell CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Holywell CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Holywell CofE Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Holywell CofE Primary School have?

Holywell CofE Primary School has 193 pupils on roll.

What age range does Holywell CofE Primary School cover?

Holywell CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Holywell CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Holywell CofE Primary School?

Holywell CofE Primary School is at Mill Way, Needingworth, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, PE27 4TF.