Western Church of England Primary School

Western Church of England Primary School is a warm and welcoming school where compassion, love and respect are evident in everyday life. Relationships between staff and pupils are nurturing and respectful, pupils feel safe and happy, and behaviour is positive. Inspectors found strong provision in the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management, with effective safeguarding. Reading is a particular strength: phonics starts early, support is well matched to pupils’ needs, and pupils are encouraged to read for pleasure. The wider curriculum is thoughtfully planned in most subjects, and pupils benefit from a wellbeing curriculum, trips and experiences that prepare them well for life in modern Britain. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was a graded inspection under section 5, so no overall effectiveness grade was given.

Strengths

• Warm, welcoming school with compassion, love and respect embedded in school life
• Respectful and nurturing relationships between adults and pupils
• Pupils feel safe and know concerns in the worry box are quickly addressed
• Pupils are polite, well behaved and focused in lessons
• Calm and harmonious playtimes with sensible play and kindness
• High expectations for most pupils, including those with SEND
• Curriculum knowledge and skills are thoughtfully sequenced across subjects
• Teaching in most subjects delivers the curriculum effectively
• Mathematics teaching models problem-solving well and provides useful resources
• Reading is a high priority, with an effective phonics programme
• Pupils needing extra reading help receive regular one-to-one support
• Reading texts are carefully adapted to meet pupils’ needs, including those with SEND
• Pupils achieve well in reading and are motivated to read for pleasure
• Western Wellbeing curriculum develops healthy-living and online-safety knowledge
• Trips and experiences are meaningful and linked across the curriculum
• Pupils are thoughtful about different faiths, cultures and beliefs
• Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain
• Classrooms are calm and distractions are managed swiftly
• Early years children are cooperative and considerate in their play
• Regular celebration of achievements motivates pupils
• Pupils enjoy school and attendance is high
• Sensitive adjustments for pupils with SEND are valued by parents
• Settling-in time helps reduce worries for some pupils
• Governors understand their role and hold leaders to account effectively
• Staff receive high-quality professional development and leaders are sensitive to workload
• Staff are proud to be members of the school community
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Early years provision requires improvement
• Early years curriculum is less precise than in other areas
• Continuous provision activities do not always have a clear learning focus
• Children lack well-considered opportunities to consolidate and deepen learning in early years
• Staff do not routinely model language sufficiently to broaden children’s vocabulary
• Children do not use newly introduced language in their play
• Ambition for children with SEND in early years is not high enough
• Support for children with SEND in early years does not help them engage in learning effectively
• Early years activities are not always adapted to make them accessible
• Expectations of what children can achieve in early years are not high enough
• Some tasks across the school are not planned as accurately as they could be
• Teachers do not always check what pupils can do before moving on to more complicated work
• Some pupils do not achieve as well as they could because of gaps in checking and task design
• There are not enough opportunities for pupils to apply high-quality writing skills in the wider curriculum

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 Western Church of England Primary School attended 96.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.2% 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, 1.5% of pupils at Western Church of England 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 Western Church of England Primary School had 22.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.0% 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, 11.6% of pupils at Western Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.8% 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 Western Church of England Primary School received £6,772 and spent £6,795 for each of its 387 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £212,000 (£548 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 Winchester · Hampshire local authority: places and applications

What is Western Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Western Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Western Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Western Church of England Primary School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Western Church of England Primary School have?

Western Church of England Primary School has 387 pupils on roll.

What age range does Western Church of England Primary School cover?

Western Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Western Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 74% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Western Church of England Primary School?

Western Church of England Primary School is at Browning Drive, Winchester, Hampshire, SO22 5AR.