Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School

Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School is a nurturing and welcoming school where pupils enjoy learning and behave well. Inspectors judged the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and early years provision to be good, with personal development outstanding. The school has high aspirations, an ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum, and strong reading and vocabulary provision from Nursery onwards. Pupils take on leadership roles maturely and are well prepared for secondary school. Safeguarding is effective. The main area for improvement is support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Although staff are trained and given information about pupils' needs, teachers do not consistently use this well enough. As a result, some pupils with SEND repeat learning unnecessarily or have misconceptions and specific needs missed, which affects how well they achieve. Leaders reflect on and adapt practice, and governors work closely with staff to manage workload. This was a graded section 5 inspection, and under current arrangements no overall effectiveness grade was given. The school is a voluntary aided Church of England primary school in the Diocese of Blackburn, and its previous inspection grade was good.

Strengths

• Nurturing, welcoming community that celebrates diversity
• Ambitious, well-embedded curriculum with clear progression from Nursery to Year 6
• Skilful delivery of the Wider Whittle curriculum deepens pupils' learning
• Pupils develop secure knowledge and are well prepared for secondary school
• Strong reading and vocabulary focus supported by high-quality texts
• Effective phonics teaching helps pupils become fluent and accurate readers
• Pupils who find reading challenging receive effective support
• Outstanding personal development helps pupils become well-rounded and mature
• Pupils carry out leadership roles diligently and support others' well-being
• Pupils behave well and build strong, positive relationships
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Governors work closely with staff to manage workload

Areas for Improvement

• Teachers do not consistently use information about pupils with SEND to adapt learning
• Some pupils with SEND repeat learning unnecessarily
• Some pupils with SEND have misconceptions or specific needs that are not addressed well enough
• Support for pupils with SEND is not consistently tailored to what they need to learn next

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 Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School attended 97.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.8% 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, 0.4% of pupils at Whittle-le-Woods 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 Whittle-le-Woods 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, 10.4% 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, 17.1% of pupils at Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.8% 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 Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School received £7,074 and spent £7,154 for each of its 240 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £120,000 (£500 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 Chorley · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School have?

Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School has 240 pupils on roll.

What age range does Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School cover?

Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 81% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School?

Whittle-le-Woods Church of England Primary School is at Preston Road, Whittle-le-Woods, Whittle-le-Woods Ce Primary School, Chorley, Lancashire, PR6 7PS.