Windermere Primary School

Windermere Primary is a welcoming community school where pupils are happy, feel safe and generally behave calmly and respectfully. Personal development and behaviour are good: pupils take part in a wide range of clubs, trips and charitable activities, value roles such as play leaders, and learn to care about global issues. Safeguarding is effective, and staff work closely with families and external agencies to improve attendance. Many pupils reach national averages by the end of key stage 2. However, the quality of education and leadership and management require improvement, and early years provision also requires improvement. The school has faced significant staffing challenges, and curriculum delivery is inconsistent across subjects and year groups. Some teaching does not focus clearly on essential knowledge, assessment is not used purposefully enough, and expectations of pupils’ work are inconsistent. Support for pupils with SEND is not always closely matched to their individual learning needs, and early reading and early years provision do not consistently give all children the foundational skills they need. Leaders are taking appropriate action and some positive changes are evident. Staff appreciate that leaders are mindful of their wellbeing and workload, but the school’s vision and expectations are not yet embedded across all areas. The report also notes that pupils are less confident in linking ideas such as fairness and respect to fundamental British values.

Strengths

• Welcoming school where pupils are happy, feel safe and behave calmly and respectfully
• Good personal development through clubs, trips, charitable activities and pupil roles
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Broad, well-sequenced curriculum
• Well-designed reading curriculum with effective catch-up strategies and fluency monitoring
• Clear behaviour routines and a calm learning environment
• Strong work with families and external agencies to improve attendance
• Staff feel leaders are mindful of their wellbeing and workload
• Pupils show empathy and care about global issues

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent curriculum delivery across subjects and year groups, linked to staffing challenges
• Teaching activities do not always focus on essential knowledge pupils need to remember
• Assessment is not used purposefully enough to check understanding and prior knowledge
• Expectations of pupils’ work and presentation are inconsistent
• Support for pupils with SEND is not always closely matched to individual learning needs
• Early reading support is not targeted for all and some reading books do not match pupils’ phonics ability
• Early years curriculum is not fully embedded, especially in early reading and phonics
• Leaders’ vision and expectations are not yet embedded across all areas
• Curriculum monitoring has not fully addressed inconsistencies
• Pupils are less confident linking fairness and respect to fundamental British values

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 Windermere Primary School attended 92.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.0% 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, 3.2% of pupils at Windermere 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 Windermere Primary School had 14.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 30.5% 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, 11.2% of pupils at Windermere Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.5% 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 Windermere Primary School received £9,615 and spent £9,859 for each of its 134 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £190,000 (£1,419 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 St Albans · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Windermere Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Windermere Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Windermere Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Windermere Primary School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Windermere Primary School have?

Windermere Primary School has 134 pupils on roll.

What age range does Windermere Primary School cover?

Windermere Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 48% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Windermere Primary School?

Windermere Primary School is at Windermere Avenue, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 5QP.