Lewknor Church of England Primary School

Inspectors found Lewknor Church of England Primary School to be performing well overall, with a nurturing environment and strong community support underpinning pupils’ positive experience. Pupils respond well to the school’s high expectations, behave kindly and respectfully, achieve well and benefit from a broad personal development offer that includes enrichment, British values and a growing emphasis on diversity. Early years provision is a notable strength, with high levels of adult support helping children settle quickly, and the recently introduced phonics approach is effective in helping most pupils become fluent readers. The school has designed a curriculum suited to its mixed-age classes and has high aspirations for pupils, including those with SEND. However, several curriculum changes are still in their infancy, leading to some inconsistency in how well some subjects, particularly in the wider curriculum, are taught. The school also needs to prioritise assessing the impact of its work on disadvantaged pupils. Recent SEND developments are not yet fully embedded, and adaptations for some pupils are not consistently known, shared or evaluated by staff, meaning in-class support sometimes lacks consistency. This is a small voluntary controlled Church of England primary school in Oxfordshire with 77 pupils on roll. It was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the headteacher has joined since the previous inspection. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, staff feel well supported by leaders, and parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school’s small size, community feel and care for children.

Strengths

• Nurturing environment and strong community support help pupils thrive
• High expectations for learning and behaviour are met positively by pupils
• Pupils behave kindly and respectfully across all aspects of school life
• Personal development is a strength, with well-planned enrichment and British values work
• Pupils develop a strong appreciation of equality and diversity
• Effective phonics teaching helps most pupils become fluent and confident readers
• Early years provision is thorough, with high adult support and a smooth start to school
• Pupils with SEND are well understood and achieve well
• Leaders support staff well through curriculum changes
• Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum changes are in their infancy, causing inconsistency in some subjects, especially the wider curriculum
• Assessment of the impact on disadvantaged pupils is not yet prioritised
• Recent SEND developments are not fully embedded
• Curriculum adaptations for some pupils with SEND are not widely known, shared or evaluated by staff
• In-class support for pupils with SEND sometimes lacks consistency

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 Lewknor Church of England Primary School attended 95.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.3% 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 Lewknor 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 Lewknor Church of England Primary School had 14.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 27.1% 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, 14.9% of pupils at Lewknor Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.4% 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 Lewknor Church of England Primary School received £8,660 and spent £9,327 for each of its 74 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £33,000 (£450 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 Lewknor Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lewknor Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Lewknor Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Lewknor Church of England Primary School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Lewknor Church of England Primary School have?

Lewknor Church of England Primary School has 74 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lewknor Church of England Primary School cover?

Lewknor Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Lewknor Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Lewknor Church of England Primary School?

Lewknor Church of England Primary School is at High Street, Lewknor, Watlington, Oxfordshire, OX49 5TH.