Newton Primary School

Newton Primary School is a larger-than-average primary school that has undergone significant leadership change since its last inspection, with a new headteacher, deputy headteacher and SENCO appointed. Safeguarding standards are met. Inspectors found the school performing well overall in most areas, with attendance above national average, effective early years provision, strong inclusion, and positive leadership and governance. Pupils are proud of their school and benefit from a comprehensive personal development programme. Pupils achieve well in reading and mathematics at the end of Year 6, and phonics outcomes are strong. However, progress across other subjects is inconsistent, and teaching quality varies. Writing is a particular weakness, with letter formation and consistency of teaching flagged. Some pupils lose focus in lessons, and behaviour for learning strategies need embedding. Disadvantaged pupils' attainment lags behind national averages in some measures. Leaders have a clear understanding of priorities and have worked with pace to improve inclusion and early years. They now need to ensure teachers choose appropriate activities, strengthen writing and handwriting, refine curriculum definitions so staff know what to prioritise, and embed behaviour strategies. Governors and staff are supportive, and the school has positive relationships with parents.

Strengths

• Attendance rates are above the national average, with low persistent absence.
• Pupils behave well, are polite, and incidents of bullying are managed swiftly.
• Early years provision is effective, with a stimulating environment and strong phonics teaching.
• Leaders are committed to inclusion and provide effective support for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• Leadership has worked with precision and pace, maintaining a focus on staff wellbeing.
• The personal development programme is comprehensive and ambitious, offering a wide range of enrichment activities.
• Pupils achieve well in reading and mathematics at the end of Year 6.
• Pupils are proud of their school, embrace diversity, and develop leadership skills.
• Governors provide strategic oversight and fulfil their statutory duties.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture and effective pupil education on safety.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' progress through the curriculum beyond English and mathematics is inconsistent across subjects and key stages.
• Teaching quality is variable, with some lessons not matching activities to curriculum aims.
• Writing is not well developed, particularly letter formation, and teaching of writing is inconsistent.
• The curriculum has aspects where essential knowledge is not clearly defined, so staff do not know what to prioritise.
• Some pupils lose focus in lessons and distract each other, which hinders learning.
• Disadvantaged pupils' attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is below national averages in recent years.
• Pupils are not as well prepared as they should be for the next stage of education due to uneven progress in other subjects.
• Behaviour for learning strategies need to be embedded so pupils consistently show positive attitudes.

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 Newton Primary School attended 96.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.8% 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, 0.3% of pupils at Newton 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 Newton Primary School had 20.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.1% 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, 16.3% of pupils at Newton Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.1% 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 Newton Primary School received £5,530 and spent £6,624 for each of its 369 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £30,000 (£81 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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All schools in Chester · Cheshire West and Chester local authority: places and applications

What is Newton Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Newton Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Newton Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Newton Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Newton Primary School have?

Newton Primary School has 369 pupils on roll.

What age range does Newton Primary School cover?

Newton Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 53% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Newton Primary School?

Newton Primary School is at Kingsway West, Newton, Chester, Cheshire, CH2 2LA.