Windmill Primary School

Windmill Primary School is a strongly performing, community-focused primary school where pupils are exceptionally well cared for and achieve well. Inspectors found warm, respectful relationships, exceptional behaviour and personal development, and a meticulously sequenced curriculum, including in early years. Pupils are fluent readers, attendance is above the national average, parents are highly positive, and governance and staff morale are strong. Safeguarding is effective. The main area for improvement is the quality of education in a few foundation subjects, where some teachers' subject knowledge is not as secure as elsewhere. As a result, pupils occasionally do not embed important knowledge and skills as well as they could. Leaders understand this and are already addressing it through a programme to develop staff subject expertise. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic; it had previously been exempt from routine inspection after an outstanding judgement and had not been inspected under section 5 since 2015. Under current arrangements, no overall effectiveness grade was awarded.

Strengths

• Exceptionally warm, kind and respectful relationships between staff and pupils
• Pupils are extremely polite, thoughtful and respectful to others
• Personal development is first class, with a rich range of clubs, trips and cultural experiences
• Curriculum is sequenced meticulously across all subjects, including early years
• SEND needs are identified accurately and learning is generally adapted well
• Pupils are fluent and prolific readers, with strong phonics teaching and support for those who struggle
• Early years provision is highly engaging and prepares children extremely well for key stage 1
• Attendance is above the national average and almost all parents would recommend the school
• Governors are skilled, knowledgeable and challenge leaders effectively
• Staff morale is high, with valued professional development and a strong team spirit
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In a few foundation subjects, teachers' subject knowledge is not secure enough, so pupils do not always embed important knowledge and skills well.
• The school should embed its programme to develop staff subject expertise across the whole curriculum.

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 Windmill Primary School attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.8% 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, 0.2% of pupils at Windmill 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 Windmill Primary School had 23.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.5% 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, 11.2% of pupils at Windmill Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.5% 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 Windmill Primary School received £6,180 and spent £6,063 for each of its 623 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £421,000 (£676 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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What is Windmill Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Windmill Primary School is Good, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was Windmill Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Windmill Primary School was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does Windmill Primary School have?

Windmill Primary School has 623 pupils on roll.

What age range does Windmill Primary School cover?

Windmill Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Windmill Primary School?

Windmill Primary School is at Margaret Road, Headington, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX3 8NG.