Weeton St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Weeton St Michael’s is a small Church of England voluntary aided primary school that has improved markedly since its previous inspection. Pupils are proud of their school, feel safe and are kind and respectful. Behaviour is calm, attendance is high and learning is rarely interrupted. The curriculum has been overhauled and is now ambitious and well sequenced from Reception to Year 6, and most pupils achieve well, including many with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Personal development is a particular strength. Pupils learn about fundamental British values, take on responsibilities and benefit from a wide range of trips, clubs and community activities. Children in the early years get off to a good start, especially in communication and language, and reading for pleasure is promoted well across the school. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and leaders have managed a period of considerable change with sensitivity to staff workload and by drawing on external support. Two areas need greater consistency. Support for some pupils with SEND does not always match their individual needs, which can hinder how well they achieve. In addition, some staff are not yet fully confident in delivering the school’s new phonics programme, so some pupils do not learn to read fluently as quickly as they should.

Strengths

• Pupils are kind, respectful and considerate of one another
• The curriculum is ambitious, carefully sequenced and broken into small steps
• Staff expertise and well-chosen resources help pupils achieve well
• Early years prioritises communication and language and gets children off to a good start
• Staff check understanding and revisit learning so pupils remember essential knowledge
• Reading for pleasure is promoted well through daily stories and high-quality books
• Behaviour rules are applied consistently and learning is rarely interrupted
• Attendance is high, with effective work to secure regular and punctual attendance
• Personal development is central, including British values and community contribution
• Pupils access wide experiences, clubs and leadership responsibilities
• Leaders are sensitive to staff workload and work well with external partners
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• SEND provision has been overhauled with clear early identification and external agency guidance

Areas for Improvement

• Support for pupils with SEND is not consistently matched to individual needs, sometimes hindering access to learning
• Some staff lack confidence in delivering the new phonics programme, leading to inconsistent practice and slower reading fluency for some pupils

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 Weeton St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.5% 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, 2.0% of pupils at Weeton St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided 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 Weeton St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School had 15.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 26.3% 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, 27.1% of pupils at Weeton St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.8% 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 Weeton St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School received £9,581 and spent £9,933 for each of its 59 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £28,000 (£483 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 Weeton St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Weeton St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Weeton St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Weeton St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Weeton St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School have?

Weeton St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School has 59 pupils on roll.

What age range does Weeton St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School cover?

Weeton St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Weeton St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 25% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Weeton St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School?

Weeton St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is at Church Road, Weeton, Preston, Lancashire, PR4 3WD.