Howes Community Primary School

Following a full inspection in July 2026, Howes Community Primary School is a highly inclusive, community-focused school that meets safeguarding standards. Inclusion and personal development and wellbeing are standout strengths: pupils from all backgrounds feel welcome, the Hearing Resource Base is calm and fully integrated, and pastoral care, enrichment and pupil voice are highly valued by families. Behaviour is calm and respectful, and pupils are proud of their school. Achievement, curriculum and teaching, early years, and leadership all reflect a school fulfilling expected standards. Key stage 2 outcomes have improved and are close to national averages in reading, writing and mathematics, though disadvantaged pupils, especially in reading, do less well. The curriculum is broad and ambitious, reading and phonics are taught well, and early years provision is nurturing and effective. Leaders know their complex, changing community and have acted decisively on vulnerable pupils, but their analysis of performance and improvement impact is still being refined. The main concern is attendance. Overall attendance and persistent absence are below national averages, despite careful tracking and work with families, and leaders' actions have not yet secured sustained improvement. Leaders must sharpen the impact of the attendance strategy, continue work on older pupils' handwriting and spelling, and use more insightful data analysis to drive faster improvement. The school's highly transient intake and high proportion of pupils with SEND provide important context for published outcomes.

Strengths

• Highly inclusive culture where pupils from all backgrounds feel welcome and valued
• Strong inclusion provision, including effective support for pupils with SEND and a well-regarded Hearing Resource Base
• Personal development and wellbeing programme is a significant strength, supporting safety, health, resilience and character
• Effective pastoral support and strong relationships with families, described as the heart of the community and a safe haven
• Pupils behave well, are polite and courteous, and bullying is rare and handled effectively
• Broad, ambitious curriculum with a secure focus on spoken language, reading and phonics
• Pupils develop a love of reading and benefit from consistently well-delivered reading sessions
• Early years provision is purposeful, nurturing and well designed, preparing children well for key stage 1
• Leaders know the community well, are ambitious, and work effectively with external agencies
• Wide-ranging enrichment and leadership opportunities broaden pupils' experiences
• Governance and staff professional learning are effective, with a positive culture and consideration of workload
• Outcomes at key stage 2 have improved and are close to national averages in reading, writing and mathematics

Areas for Improvement

• Overall attendance is below national averages and has been for some time, with persistent absence also high
• Leaders' actions have not yet secured sustained improvement in attendance
• Disadvantaged pupils achieve less well, particularly in reading, and gaps remain substantial
• Older pupils still have weaknesses in handwriting and spelling that need to be addressed
• Published national attainment data does not fully reflect the school's work with a highly transient pupil population
• Leaders' analysis of performance data and improvement impact needs to be more detailed and insightful
• Writing curriculum changes are at an early stage
• Attendance strategy impact, especially for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, needs closer checking and swift action

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 Howes Community Primary School attended 92.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 24.7% 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, 2.2% of pupils at Howes Community Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Howes Community Primary School had 18.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.8% 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, 24.7% of pupils at Howes Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 3 pupils.

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 Howes Community Primary School received £9,204 and spent £9,714 for each of its 175 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £230,000 (£1,317 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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• Secondary Schools

All schools in Coventry · Coventry local authority: places and applications

What is Howes Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Howes Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Howes Community Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Howes Community Primary School have?

Howes Community Primary School has 182 pupils on roll.

What age range does Howes Community Primary School cover?

Howes Community Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 61% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Howes Community Primary School?

Howes Community Primary School is at Palermo Avenue, Cheylesmore, Coventry, West Midlands, CV3 5EH.