Bishop's Waltham Junior School

Bishop's Waltham Junior School is a happy, inclusive and well-led junior school where pupils feel safe, behave well and attend regularly. Safeguarding standards are met. Attendance is consistently high and above national averages, persistent absence is low, and pupils' behaviour is strong. Personal development and wellbeing are particular strengths, with a well-sequenced programme, wide extra-curricular provision and effective pastoral support. Leaders have created a positive culture, strong parent engagement and effective governance. Most pupils achieve well and make appropriate progress, including pupils with SEND, and the curriculum is well structured. However, provision is not yet consistently embedded across all areas. Some pupils make basic errors in spelling, punctuation and handwriting that are not always addressed consistently, and these skills are not routinely applied in extended work across subjects. This slows the closing of gaps and limits how highly some pupils achieve. Disadvantaged pupils' combined reading, writing and mathematics outcomes remain below national averages, with a substantial disadvantage gap. Leaders have appropriate priorities, and improvements are having a positive impact in key areas, but their work has not yet secured consistently high outcomes for all pupils over time. The next steps are to embed effective strategies for disadvantaged pupils so support is systematically adjusted, and to refine foundations such as handwriting so pupils apply skills securely and routinely across the curriculum.

Strengths

• Attendance is consistently high and above national averages for all groups.
• Persistent absence is low and continues to fall.
• Pupils behave very well, with calm, respectful and caring relationships.
• Bullying is rare and pupils are confident staff address concerns quickly.
• Personal development and wellbeing provision is a significant strength.
• The PSHE/RSE curriculum is carefully sequenced and aligned to the local context.
• Pupils develop strong understanding of online safety, relationships, consent and risk.
• Extra-curricular opportunities are wide-ranging and designed to include disadvantaged pupils and those with additional needs.
• Pastoral support is effective, with tailored and specialist provision for emotional and social needs.
• Most pupils achieve well and make appropriate progress from their starting points.
• Pupils with SEND generally make suitable progress and access the curriculum alongside peers.
• The curriculum is well structured and sequenced so pupils build knowledge over time.
• Leaders are ambitious for strong foundations in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Inclusion is well embedded, with high expectations and early identification of needs.
• Governance is effective, providing appropriate support and challenge.
• Staff development is prioritised and aligned to whole-school priorities.
• Parent and community engagement is a particular strength.

Areas for Improvement

• Development of important knowledge is not yet consistently secure across the curriculum.
• Some pupils make basic errors in spelling, punctuation and handwriting that are not always addressed consistently.
• Gaps close more slowly for some pupils because key skills are not securely embedded.
• Curriculum and teaching approaches are not consistently embedded across all learning.
• Pupils do not routinely apply spelling and handwriting skills accurately in extended work.
• Learning is not consistently secured, and some pupils do not apply key skills confidently across subjects.
• Disadvantaged pupils' combined reading, writing and mathematics outcomes remain below national averages.
• The disadvantage gap in combined reading, writing and mathematics is substantial.
• Leaders' improvements are not yet consistently embedded across all areas of the school's work.
• Leaders' work has not yet secured consistently high outcomes for all pupils over time.

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 Bishop's Waltham Junior School attended 95.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.6% 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 Bishop's Waltham Junior 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 Bishop's Waltham Junior School had 21.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 3.6% 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, 11.8% of pupils at Bishop's Waltham Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.8% 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 Bishop's Waltham Junior School received £6,904 and spent £6,807 for each of its 287 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £217,000 (£757 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 Southampton · Hampshire local authority: places and applications

What is Bishop's Waltham Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bishop's Waltham Junior School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Bishop's Waltham Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bishop's Waltham Junior School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Bishop's Waltham Junior School have?

Bishop's Waltham Junior School has 287 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bishop's Waltham Junior School cover?

Bishop's Waltham Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Bishop's Waltham Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 65% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Bishop's Waltham Junior School?

Bishop's Waltham Junior School is at Oak Road, Bishops Waltham, Southampton, Hampshire, SO32 1EP.