Woodside Primary School

Woodside Primary School is a small, highly inclusive school serving a disadvantaged community, where pupils achieve well overall and behave exceptionally. Pupils, including those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, make good progress, and outcomes in national tests are broadly in line with or above national averages, with mathematics a particular strength. Inclusion is at the heart of the school, and the specially resourced provision for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs is highly effective, helping many pupils transition successfully to mainstream. Safeguarding standards are met, attendance is improving, and pupils benefit from strong pastoral care and a nurturing ethos. However, the inspection identified significant weaknesses in leadership and quality assurance. Leaders do not have sufficient oversight of the curriculum and teaching, and their systems for checking quality are not rigorous enough to identify and address weaknesses quickly. As a result, curriculum improvement strategies lack precision. In some subjects, the curriculum is not securely embedded, and teaching does not consistently focus on the key knowledge pupils need to remember. The early years curriculum is not broken down sufficiently to meet children's needs, and staff do not consistently extend vocabulary, so some children do not learn as well as they could. Governance also requires improvement; governors' challenge to leaders, particularly around curriculum and school improvement, is not robust. While staff feel valued and parents are positive, the school needs to strengthen its quality assurance, refine the early years curriculum, ensure teachers address misconceptions promptly, and continue to improve attendance. Overall, the school is fulfilling the expected standard but needs attention in several areas to ensure consistent improvement.

Strengths

• Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, achieve well in national tests, with mathematics a particular strength.
• Inclusion is at the heart of the school, with tenacious leadership in removing barriers to learning and wellbeing.
• Pupils behave exceptionally well, showing kindness and respect, and bullying or discrimination is not tolerated.
• The specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND is highly effective, with many pupils transitioning successfully to mainstream.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture of safeguarding.
• Attendance is rising, and disadvantaged pupils' attendance is in line with national averages.
• Pupils benefit from high-quality pastoral care, strong relationships with staff, and a broad personal development programme.
• Staff feel valued and supported, and parents are positive about the school.
• Early reading is prioritised, with a well-delivered phonics programme enabling pupils to read confidently and fluently.
• Governors carry out some duties well, including those related to safeguarding.

Areas for Improvement

• Leaders do not have sufficient oversight of the quality of the curriculum and teaching, and quality assurance systems are not rigorous enough.
• Improvement strategies lack precision and do not bring about improvements quickly enough.
• In some subjects, the curriculum is not securely embedded, and teachers sometimes focus on activities rather than the knowledge pupils should secure.
• Leaders do not have a clear enough understanding of what is working well in early years or what needs to improve.
• The early years curriculum is not broken down sufficiently to identify the small steps of knowledge children need, and does not fully account for low starting points.
• In early years, staff do not consistently extend children's vocabulary, so some children do not learn as well as they could.
• Teachers do not always address misconceptions or errors as quickly as they could.
• Governors' challenge to leaders, especially around curriculum, teaching, and school improvement priorities, is not robust enough.
• Leaders do not provide a well-targeted programme of professional learning because they are unsure of where staff need to develop.
• Persistent absenteeism remains above national average, and overall absence is higher than national average.

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 Woodside Primary School attended 93.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.9% 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, 3.6% of pupils at Woodside 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 Woodside Primary School had 12.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.3% 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, 24.1% of pupils at Woodside Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 16.4% 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 Woodside Primary School received £11,714 and spent £12,406 for each of its 116 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £59,000 (-£508 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 Runcorn · Halton local authority: places and applications

What is Woodside Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Woodside Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Woodside Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Woodside Primary School have?

Woodside Primary School has 116 pupils on roll.

What age range does Woodside Primary School cover?

Woodside Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

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

In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Woodside Primary School?

Woodside Primary School is at Whitchurch Way, Halton Lodge Estate, Runcorn, Cheshire, WA7 5YP.