Stockham Primary School

Stockham Primary School is a welcoming and inclusive school where pupils feel safe and cared for. Safeguarding standards are met, attendance is in line with national figures and improving for identified pupils, and behaviour is calm and respectful. Personal development and wellbeing are well planned, with strong pastoral care and a wide range of enrichment opportunities. However, pupils' achievement is too low, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. Outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2 remain below national averages, and too many pupils are not well prepared for the next stage of their education. Curriculum and teaching are improving but are at an early stage; assessment is not fully embedded, gaps in pupils' knowledge are not consistently identified or addressed, and provision for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils is not always precisely matched to need. Early years has strengths in phonics and relationships, but learning is not consistently effective. The school has been through significant turbulence, including changes in leadership and governance. New leaders have brought stability, set the right priorities and improved safeguarding, attendance, behaviour and support for vulnerable pupils, but these improvements are not yet reflected in published outcomes. Governors are passionate and improving but do not yet have a detailed enough understanding of achievement to challenge leaders robustly. Overall, the school is safe and caring with clear strengths, but significant work remains to ensure all pupils, especially disadvantaged pupils, achieve well.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture.
• Pupils attend regularly and attendance is in line with national figures and improving for identified pupils.
• Behaviour is calm and respectful, with a significant reduction in challenging behaviour.
• Leaders have established clear routines and high expectations that pupils understand.
• Personal development is well planned, inclusive and supported by a wide range of enrichment opportunities.
• Pastoral care is effective, helping pupils feel valued, safe and secure.
• Phonics is taught effectively, with reading books carefully matched to pupils' sounds.
• Early years staff build positive relationships and support children's personal, social and emotional development.
• Leaders have taken appropriate action to improve outcomes, with encouraging phonics and multiplication tables check results.
• Provision such as the Bungalow and Red Kites class helps vulnerable pupils overcome barriers.
• Staff know pupils well and work effectively with families and external agencies.
• Leaders have brought stability after a period of turbulence and built a committed team.
• Pupils with additional needs feel included and take part in school life alongside their peers.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' achievement is too low, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.
• Published outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics are below national averages, especially at the end of key stage 2.
• Too many pupils are not well prepared for the next stage of their education.
• Pupils' knowledge and understanding are not consistently secure, especially in the wider curriculum.
• A significant minority of pupils have gaps in learning that limit progress.
• Reading fluency, spelling and handwriting remain inconsistent for too many pupils.
• Curriculum and teaching improvements are at an early stage and not yet fully embedded.
• Assessment systems are not yet fully embedded, so teachers do not consistently identify and address gaps.
• The wider curriculum and early years curriculum are still being developed to clarify essential knowledge.
• Adaptations for pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and other vulnerable groups are not always precisely matched to need.
• Early years learning is not consistently effective, with missed opportunities for language and vocabulary development.
• Adult interaction in early years varies and does not always extend children's thinking.
• Routines, transition times and the outdoor area in early years are not fully established or effectively used.
• Identification of pupils' specific learning needs is not always precise enough, so support varies in effectiveness.
• Governors do not yet have a sufficiently detailed understanding of pupils' achievement, including different groups.
• Governors do not always provide robust enough challenge or hold leaders fully accountable.
• Leaders' changes have not yet led to significant improvements in pupils' learning.

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 Stockham Primary School attended 94.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.6% 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, 2.4% of pupils at Stockham 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 Stockham Primary School had 25.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 52.2% 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, 19.2% of pupils at Stockham Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.4% 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 Stockham Primary School received £7,263 and spent £7,554 for each of its 203 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £99,000 (-£489 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 Wantage · Oxfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Stockham Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Stockham Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Stockham Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Stockham Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Stockham Primary School have?

Stockham Primary School has 203 pupils on roll.

What age range does Stockham Primary School cover?

Stockham Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 50% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Stockham Primary School?

Stockham Primary School is at Stockham Way, Wantage, Oxfordshire, OX12 9HL.