Wincheap Foundation Primary School

Wincheap Foundation Primary School is a larger-than-average primary school in Canterbury serving a community with above-average levels of disadvantage. Leaders, including governors, have a detailed understanding of the school and are focused on the right improvement priorities, placing pupils at the heart of decision-making. The school's early years provision, personal development offer and behaviour are all strengths: children thrive in a nurturing environment, pupils benefit from a broad and thoughtful personal development programme, and behaviour and attitudes are positive. Safeguarding standards are met.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture of safeguarding
• Early years provision is high quality, with communication and language at the centre of learning
• Phonics is well established, with timely support for pupils who fall behind
• Pupils behave well, show positive attitudes to learning and respect each other's differences
• The personal development programme is broad and well considered, including high-quality pastoral support
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of clubs, visits and leadership opportunities
• Leaders and governors know the school well, have clear priorities and support staff wellbeing and professional development
• Leaders build positive relationships with parents and the wider community
• Pupils with SEND are typically happy and feel included, and those previously known to social care receive effective support

Areas for Improvement

• Disadvantaged pupils do not achieve as well as they should in national tests, and staff are often unclear about the barriers they face
• Attendance remains low, with persistent absence still high for some groups, and leaders' actions have not yet secured sustained improvement
• Staff do not consistently check pupils' understanding, limiting some pupils' ability to write and spell fluently
• Teaching does not consistently build on pupils' starting points, so gaps in learning persist
• Support in lessons does not always match pupils' needs, and teachers do not consistently adapt learning effectively
• Pupils' knowledge is at times not as deeply embedded as it could be, and some pupils are not ready for the next stage of their learning

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 Wincheap Foundation Primary School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.6% 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, 3.0% of pupils at Wincheap Foundation 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 Wincheap Foundation Primary School had 18.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.2% 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, 11.0% of pupils at Wincheap Foundation Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.4% 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 Wincheap Foundation Primary School received £7,286 and spent £7,470 for each of its 429 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £114,000 (£265 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 Canterbury · Kent local authority: places and applications

What is Wincheap Foundation Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Wincheap Foundation Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Wincheap Foundation Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Wincheap Foundation Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Wincheap Foundation Primary School have?

Wincheap Foundation Primary School has 429 pupils on roll.

What age range does Wincheap Foundation Primary School cover?

Wincheap Foundation Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Wincheap Foundation Primary School?

Wincheap Foundation Primary School is at Hollow Lane, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 3SD.