Appleton Wiske Community Primary School

Appleton Wiske Community Primary School is a small, welcoming village school that is performing well overall. Pupils are happy, safe and attend regularly, with attendance above the national average, including for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Behaviour is consistently good, pupils show respect and empathy, and staff are quick to deal with any concerns. The school's personal development and wellbeing provision is a notable strength, offering a broad range of trips, visitors, clubs and leadership opportunities that help pupils grow into responsible and resilient young people. Across achievement, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion and leadership, the school is meeting expected standards. Pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics, and disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND are well supported. The early years provision is well organised, with a strong focus on communication, language and phonics. Leaders and governors know the school well, and staff feel valued and supported. The main area for improvement is the consistency with which staff help pupils act on feedback. While teachers regularly check understanding, the support pupils receive to correct misconceptions and make improvements varies, so progress is not always as consistent as it could be. Safeguarding standards are met.

Strengths

• Pupils attend regularly, with attendance above the national average, including for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• Pupils behave consistently well and show respect, empathy and kindness towards others.
• The school has a welcoming, harmonious culture where pupils feel valued and safe.
• Personal development is thoughtfully planned, with trips, visitors and enrichment opportunities that broaden pupils' horizons.
• Uptake of enrichment activities is very high, especially for disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils with SEND achieve well because barriers are identified quickly and effective support is provided.
• Phonics teaching is effective, helping pupils become fluent and confident readers.
• Early years provision is broad and well organised, with a strong focus on communication, language and early writing.
• Leaders and governors have a clear understanding of the school's strengths and priorities.
• Staff feel valued and supported, and training is closely linked to areas for improvement.
• Safeguarding standards are met.

Areas for Improvement

• Staff do not consistently support pupils to act on feedback, so pupils' progress is sometimes less consistent than it could be.

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 Appleton Wiske Community Primary School attended 94.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.9% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Appleton Wiske Community 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 Appleton Wiske Community Primary School had 19.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.0% 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, 17.3% of pupils at Appleton Wiske Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.3% 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 Appleton Wiske Community Primary School received £8,983 and spent £9,459 for each of its 75 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £54,000 (£714 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 Northallerton · North Yorkshire local authority: places and applications

What is Appleton Wiske Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Appleton Wiske Community Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Appleton Wiske Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Appleton Wiske Community Primary School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Appleton Wiske Community Primary School have?

Appleton Wiske Community Primary School has 75 pupils on roll.

What age range does Appleton Wiske Community Primary School cover?

Appleton Wiske Community Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

Where is Appleton Wiske Community Primary School?

Appleton Wiske Community Primary School is at Front Street, Appleton Wiske, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL6 2AA.