Walmore Hill Primary School

Walmore Hill Primary School is a small, federated school that has undergone significant leadership change since its previous inspection. Inspectors found it to be on an upward trajectory: pupils are happy and safe, relationships are warm and nurturing, behaviour is impressive, and personal development and leadership are strong. Safeguarding is effective. The school has high expectations and an ambitious curriculum, and reading is a particular strength, with skilled phonics teaching and effective support for pupils who fall behind. However, the quality of education is not yet consistently good. In some subjects the curriculum is not delivered as intended, and checks on what pupils know and remember are underdeveloped, so pupils do not always build or recall the knowledge they need. Pupils with SEND are identified promptly, but work is not adapted well enough for some, and early years planning does not always prepare children fully for Year 1. Leaders are taking decisive action and some improvements are still in their infancy. The report highlights strong pastoral support and a wide range of wider opportunities, including music, sport and a residential trip. Governors know the school well and hold leaders to account, and staff are proud to work there. The school's context includes federation with two other primary schools and relatively new executive and head of school appointments.

Strengths

• Warm and nurturing relationships help pupils feel happy and safe
• Pupils' behaviour is impressive, with high levels of respect and kindness
• Personal development is strong, with rich wider opportunities including music, sport and residential trips
• High-quality pastoral support is provided for pupils and their families
• Reading is a strength, with skilled phonics teaching and timely interventions
• The curriculum is ambitious and expectations of pupils have been raised
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Leaders and governors have accurate knowledge and hold the school to account
• Staff are proud to work at the school and speak positively about raised ambition

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation is not secure in some subjects, limiting pupils' depth of knowledge
• Checks on what pupils know and remember are underdeveloped in some subjects
• Learning is not adapted well enough to meet the needs of some pupils with SEND
• Early years planned learning does not always ensure children gain the knowledge needed for Year 1
• Some improvements are still in their infancy and not yet fully embedded

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 Walmore Hill Primary School attended 90.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 34.3% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Walmore Hill 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 Walmore Hill Primary School had 12.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.0% 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, 29.7% of pupils at Walmore Hill Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.7% 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 Walmore Hill Primary School received £12,465 and spent £12,046 for each of its 38 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £64,000 (£1,696 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

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What is Walmore Hill Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Walmore Hill Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Walmore Hill Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Walmore Hill Primary School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Walmore Hill Primary School have?

Walmore Hill Primary School has 37 pupils on roll.

What age range does Walmore Hill Primary School cover?

Walmore Hill Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

Where is Walmore Hill Primary School?

Walmore Hill Primary School is at Walmore Hill, Minsterworth, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, GL2 8LA.