Wheatley Church of England Primary School

Wheatley Church of England Primary School is a caring, welcoming school where pupils feel happy, safe and well supported. Behaviour and attitudes, personal development and early years provision are strengths: relationships are positive, pupils enjoy a wide range of enriching activities, safeguarding is effective, and children get off to a strong start in Nursery and Reception. Early reading has improved rapidly, with well-matched phonics support and a rich reading culture. However, the quality of education and leadership are not yet consistently strong. While the curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced, some pupils, including those with SEND and pupils who struggle with reading and writing, do not get teaching adapted well enough to their needs. Teachers do not always check understanding carefully, so gaps in knowledge persist. Mathematics is a particular concern: older pupils have gaps in recall and do not get enough opportunities to problem solve and reason. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. It is part of Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust, and leaders, including trust colleagues, have an accurate view of the school and have begun prioritising training and systems, although some of this work is still in its infancy.

Strengths

• Nurturing, caring ethos where pupils feel happy and safe
• Strong relationships between staff and pupils
• Ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum from Nursery to Year 6
• Early reading provision has had rapid impact and is well matched to pupils’ phonics knowledge
• Pupils access a rich and diverse range of books and focused vocabulary development
• Early years provision is well structured and gets children off to a strong start
• Positive behaviour and relationships are central to the school’s culture
• Personal development provision is a strength, with extensive enrichment activities
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Staff feel well supported and value working with trust colleagues

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils, including those with SEND, do not receive consistently adapted support to access the curriculum
• Gaps in pupils’ knowledge persist because staff do not consistently check understanding
• Mathematics provision has had less impact; older pupils have gaps and insufficient problem-solving and reasoning opportunities
• Teaching sometimes moves on before pupils are ready or sets tasks that are too difficult for pupils who struggle with reading and writing
• Some pupils become distracted in challenging lessons and do not meet behaviour expectations
• Some improvement systems and training are in their infancy and not yet having the needed impact

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 Wheatley Church of England Primary School attended 95.5% 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, 2.5% of pupils at Wheatley 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 Wheatley Church of England Primary School had 19.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 26.9% 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, 14.8% of pupils at Wheatley Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.3% 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 2024–25 Wheatley Church of England Primary School received £6,285 and spent £6,271 for each of its 282 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £430,000 (£1,529 per pupil).

Across all 45 schools of Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust, income was £7,225 and spending £7,175 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

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All schools in Oxford · Oxfordshire local authority: places and applications

Wheatley Church of England Primary School is part of Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust, which runs 46 schools. The nearest others:

• St Francis Church of England Primary School Oxford
• Tyndale Community School Oxford
• St Christopher's Church of England School, Cowley Oxford
• St Frideswide Church of England Primary School Oxford
• John Henry Newman Academy Oxford
• North Hinksey Church of England Primary School Oxford
• Dr South's Church of England Primary School Kidlington
• St Laurence Church of England School Wallingford
• Benson Church of England Primary School Wallingford
• St Nicholas CofE Primary School , Wallingford Wallingford

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

The latest Ofsted rating for Wheatley Church of England Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in January 2025.

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

Wheatley Church of England Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

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

Wheatley Church of England Primary School has 256 pupils on roll.

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

Wheatley Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 76% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Wheatley Church of England Primary School?

Wheatley Church of England Primary School is at Littleworth Road, Wheatley, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX33 1NN.