Fishwick Primary School

This graded inspection found Fishwick Primary School to be a caring and ambitious school where pupils are happy, safe and well looked after. However, the school’s ambitions are not fully realised: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management all require improvement, while early years provision is good. The previous inspection grade was good, and this inspection did not produce an overall effectiveness grade under the current framework. The early years provision gives children a positive start, safeguarding is effective, and the school identifies and supports pupils with SEND well, including through an informal SEND provision class for a small number of pupils with complex needs. Pupils also benefit from a range of clubs, trips and breaktime equipment, and staff workload and well-being are considered. However, several curriculums are not designed or delivered precisely enough, including for mixed-age classes and the SEND provision class, which leaves pupils with gaps and sometimes superficial knowledge. Phonics delivery is inconsistent, attendance is slightly below national averages, and pupils’ understanding of fundamental British values and diversity is underdeveloped. Curriculum oversight and some governors’ expertise are also not strong enough to ensure robust challenge and improvement. The school has experienced several changes to teaching staff since the last inspection and does not currently use alternative provision. The report highlights that the school needs to improve curriculum design and delivery, phonics, attendance, personal development and governance so that its ambitions for all pupils are more consistently realised.

Strengths

• The school is ambitious for what all pupils, including those with SEND, should achieve.
• Pupils are happy and safe and value positive relationships with their teachers.
• Pupils are cared for and get along well with one another.
• Pupils enjoy a range of breaktime equipment and extra-curricular clubs and trips.
• Early years provision is good and gives children a positive start.
• The school identifies SEND early and provides appropriate support and adaptations.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Pupils develop secure knowledge of how to keep safe and maintain their physical health.
• Individualised emotional well-being support is appreciated by pupils.
• Pupils conduct themselves sensibly around school and at social times.
• Staff workload and well-being are fully considered by leaders.
• Governors fulfil their statutory duties.

Areas for Improvement

• Some curriculums are not designed or delivered well enough, leading to disengagement and inconsistent achievement.
• Curriculum thinking in some subjects, including the SEND provision class, is not precise enough.
• The school has not sufficiently adapted curriculum content and delivery for mixed-age classes.
• Teachers in poorly designed subjects are limited in pinpointing pupils’ gaps and misconceptions.
• The school does not have sufficient oversight or evaluation of curriculum design, delivery and impact.
• The phonics programme is not delivered consistently well, and reading books are not consistently matched to pupils’ sounds.
• Pupils do not develop a well-rounded understanding of differences, diversity and fundamental British values.
• Attendance is slightly below national averages, with no secure analysis or clear strategy for improvement.
• Some pupils become distracted when learning activities are not well suited to their academic needs.
• Some governors lack the knowledge or expertise to provide robust oversight, strategic direction and challenge.

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 Fishwick Primary School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.8% 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, 1.3% of pupils at Fishwick 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 Fishwick Primary School had 13.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.5% 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, 31.7% of pupils at Fishwick Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 9.6% 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 Fishwick Primary School received £12,509 and spent £12,155 for each of its 151 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £157,000 (£1,042 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 Preston · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Fishwick Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Fishwick Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Fishwick Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Fishwick Primary School have?

Fishwick Primary School has 167 pupils on roll.

What age range does Fishwick Primary School cover?

Fishwick Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 53% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Fishwick Primary School?

Fishwick Primary School is at Downing Street, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 4RH.