Knightwood Primary School

Knightwood Primary School is a caring community primary school where pupils are happy, attend well and achieve well, especially in reading and mathematics. Inspectors judged the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management to be good, with early years provision outstanding. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2015; it was previously exempt because it was judged outstanding, and under current arrangements no overall effectiveness grade is awarded. The school’s main strengths include an exemplary Reception curriculum, expert early reading teaching, effective support for pupils with SEND, positive behaviour and attitudes, and a strong priority on pupils’ wider development. Governance is committed and staff value the professional development and attention to well-being. The main area for improvement is the foundation subjects, where curriculum thinking is not yet fully embedded and pupils’ long-term recall and wider curriculum outcomes are less consistent than in reading and mathematics. Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Strengths

• Warm relationships and a culture of respect throughout the school
• High aspirations and high expectations for all pupils
• Pupils love school and attendance is high
• Early years provision is outstanding with an exemplary Reception curriculum
• Expert early reading teaching and strong phonics support
• Pupils achieve well by the end of key stage 2, especially in reading and mathematics
• Pupils with SEND are supported effectively and learn well
• Pupils are enthusiastic, hard-working and concentrate well in lessons
• Personal development is a high priority and differences are celebrated
• Pupils have many leadership roles and community opportunities
• Governors are committed and have a thorough understanding of the school
• Staff value professional development and leaders’ attention to well-being

Areas for Improvement

• Some foundation subjects are still being reviewed and are not yet fully embedded
• In a few foundation subjects, the curriculum does not clearly identify the knowledge and skills pupils should build over time
• Pupils’ long-term recall is inconsistent in some subjects because recall and prior-knowledge links are limited
• Outcomes are not as strong in some wider curriculum subjects as in reading and mathematics

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 Knightwood Primary School attended 96.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.8% 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, 1.0% of pupils at Knightwood 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 Knightwood Primary School had 21.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.7% 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, 9.4% of pupils at Knightwood 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 Knightwood Primary School received £6,108 and spent £6,009 for each of its 395 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £715,000 (£1,810 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 Eastleigh · Hampshire local authority: places and applications

What is Knightwood Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Knightwood Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Knightwood Primary School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Knightwood Primary School have?

Knightwood Primary School has 395 pupils on roll.

What age range does Knightwood Primary School cover?

Knightwood Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 65% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Knightwood Primary School?

Knightwood Primary School is at Bell Flower Way, Knightwood Road, Chandler's Ford, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO53 4HW.