Whitefield Primary School

Whitefield Primary School continues to operate as a good school, fostering a supportive environment where pupils feel proud to attend. The leadership emphasizes high expectations for both academic achievement and behavior, resulting in pupils often exceeding these standards. The school's strong commitment to well-being is evident, with pupils appreciating the care provided by their teachers and the opportunities for independence through various responsibilities. The curriculum is well-structured and ambitious, catering to all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), although there are areas for improvement in adaptive teaching for some SEND students. While the school has notable strengths, such as a proactive approach to safeguarding and a commitment to reading, there are concerns regarding the fluency of reading among a minority of Key Stage 2 pupils. Additionally, not all teachers fully implement adaptive teaching strategies for pupils with SEND. The report indicates that leadership is proactive in addressing these areas, ensuring that staff are well-supported and that initiatives are in place to enhance overall educational outcomes for every pupil.

Strengths

• Pupils feel proud to attend and enjoy learning.
• Leaders take concerns about bullying seriously and resolve them quickly.
• The curriculum is ambitious, well-organized, and carefully sequenced.
• Effective assessment helps teachers identify and support struggling pupils.
• Leaders prioritize reading and provide a well-structured phonics curriculum.
• A wide range of extracurricular activities enrich the pupil experience.
• Effective safeguarding culture ensures pupils feel safe and supported.

Areas for Improvement

• A small minority of Key Stage 2 pupils struggle to blend sounds together when reading.
• Some teachers miss opportunities to adapt teaching for pupils with SEND.

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 Whitefield Primary School attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.1% 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, 0.3% of pupils at Whitefield 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 Whitefield Primary School had 21.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.0% 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, 16.0% of pupils at Whitefield 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 Whitefield Primary School received £6,542 and spent £6,642 for each of its 338 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £184,000 (£544 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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All schools in Preston · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Whitefield Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Whitefield Primary School is Good, from an inspection in April 2023.

When was Whitefield Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Whitefield Primary School was last inspected in April 2023.

How many pupils does Whitefield Primary School have?

Whitefield Primary School has 338 pupils on roll.

What age range does Whitefield Primary School cover?

Whitefield Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 55% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Whitefield Primary School?

Whitefield Primary School is at Oaklands Drive, Penwortham, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 0RH.