Wychwood Church of England Primary School

Wychwood Church of England Primary School is performing well across all judged areas, with good quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. It provides a close and caring community where pupils feel welcomed and safe, and pupils achieve well through a broad curriculum and a wide range of visits, trips and clubs. The school's strengths include a well-organised curriculum, strong early reading and phonics teaching, effective vocabulary development, good attendance systems and positive attitudes to learning. Staff feel well supported, pupils take on responsibilities and show respect for differences, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the school has a new headteacher and new co-chairs of governors; under the current framework, no overall effectiveness grade was given. The main area for improvement is that in a very few subjects, the specific knowledge and skills pupils are intended to learn are not identified precisely enough. As a result, pupils' learning does not always build towards deeper concepts as quickly as it could, and the school should ensure its revised curriculum is rapidly established in those subjects.

Strengths

• Close and caring ethos where everyone is welcomed
• Pupils are enthusiastic about visits, residential trips and a wide range of clubs
• High expectations and a broad curriculum enable pupils to achieve well
• Well-organised curriculum sets out clear content and sequence across subjects
• Strong early reading and phonics practice with trained staff and targeted support
• Vocabulary is promoted from the early years and technical language is used across subjects
• Positive attitudes and established routines support collaboration and refocusing
• Strong attendance systems with swift follow-up and family support
• Staff feel well supported, with training and workload considered
• Pupils take on responsibilities and contribute to the school community
• Pupils demonstrate respect for differences and are prepared for the next stages of education
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In a very few subjects, curriculum content lacks precision, so pupils' learning does not build to more complex ideas as quickly as it could; the revised curriculum needs to be rapidly established.

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 Wychwood Church of England Primary School attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.3% 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, 0.3% of pupils at Wychwood 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 Wychwood Church of England Primary School had 18.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.1% 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, 18.5% of pupils at Wychwood Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.2% 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 Wychwood Church of England Primary School received £6,522 and spent £6,801 for each of its 286 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £73,000 (-£255 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 Chipping Norton · Oxfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Wychwood Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Wychwood Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

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

Wychwood Church of England Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

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

Wychwood Church of England Primary School has 286 pupils on roll.

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

Wychwood Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 53% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Wychwood Church of England Primary School?

Wychwood Church of England Primary School is at Milton Road, Shipton-under-Wychwood, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, OX7 6BD.