Witton Church Walk CofE Aided Nursery and Primary School

Witton Church Walk CofE Aided Nursery and Primary School is a harmonious, welcoming primary and nursery school that has improved since its previous 'requires improvement' inspection. Leaders acted quickly on the earlier findings, and the school is now judged good in quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Safeguarding is effective. Because this was a graded inspection under the arrangements used from September 2024, no overall effectiveness grade is given. Pupils are caring, behave well and feel safe, and staff support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities effectively. The curriculum is broad and ambitious, early reading and phonics are strong, and pupils enjoy a wide range of activities including music, sport and visits. Governance has been strengthened and now provides effective support and challenge, and staff value leaders' attention to workload and well-being. The school also works well with families to improve attendance, although a small number of pupils still attend less often than they should. The main areas for improvement are in early writing and curriculum continuity. The early writing curriculum is not implemented consistently, and some Reception children struggle to form letters accurately because writing resources and activity choices do not build transcription skills well enough. In addition, subject curriculums in Years 1 to 6 do not routinely take account of what children learn in the early years, and checks on early years learning are not robust enough. The report notes that 2024 Year 6 outcomes in English and mathematics were low, but the school identified the reasons and current pupils are on track to achieve well.

Strengths

• Pupils are caring, feel safe and behave well.
• Staff support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities effectively.
• Early reading and phonics are taught well, and pupils read accurately and fluently.
• Children get off to a strong start in the Nursery.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious and carefully designed to connect knowledge across subjects.
• Teachers check what pupils know and remember and adapt lessons well for pupils with SEND.
• Pupils enjoy learning and take pride in their work and achievements.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of visits, music, sport and stage opportunities.
• The school works well with parents and agencies to support good attendance.
• The governing body provides effective support and challenge following an independent review.
• Staff value leaders' consideration for their workload and well-being.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe online and how to maintain physical and emotional well-being.

Areas for Improvement

• Early writing is not implemented consistently well in the early years.
• Some Reception children struggle to form letters accurately, and writing resources do not routinely build transcription skills.
• The Years 1 to 6 curriculum does not routinely take account of children's learning in the early years.
• Checks on children's learning in the early years are not robust enough to inform later learning.
• A small number of pupils do not attend as often as they should.
• 2024 Year 6 outcomes in English and mathematics were low, although current pupils are now on track.

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 Witton Church Walk CofE Aided Nursery and 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, 1.7% of pupils at Witton Church Walk CofE Aided Nursery and 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 Witton Church Walk CofE Aided Nursery and Primary School had 18.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.8% 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, 15.1% of pupils at Witton Church Walk CofE Aided Nursery and Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.3% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 6 pupils.

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 Witton Church Walk CofE Aided Nursery and Primary School received £8,528 and spent £8,626 for each of its 217 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £97,000 (-£446 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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What is Witton Church Walk CofE Aided Nursery and Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Witton Church Walk CofE Aided Nursery and Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Witton Church Walk CofE Aided Nursery and Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Witton Church Walk CofE Aided Nursery and Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Witton Church Walk CofE Aided Nursery and Primary School have?

Witton Church Walk CofE Aided Nursery and Primary School has 219 pupils on roll.

What age range does Witton Church Walk CofE Aided Nursery and Primary School cover?

Witton Church Walk CofE Aided Nursery and Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Witton Church Walk CofE Aided Nursery and Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 35% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Witton Church Walk CofE Aided Nursery and Primary School?

Witton Church Walk CofE Aided Nursery and Primary School is at Church Walk, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 5QQ.