Woodville Primary School

Woodville Primary School is a primary academy that was inspected under section 5 for the first time, having previously been judged outstanding before it became an academy. Inspectors found pupils love school and benefit from a wide range of experiences. In most subjects pupils achieve highly, reading is a particular strength, pupils with SEND are well supported and make strong progress, behaviour is positive, and personal development and leadership are effective. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main area for improvement is the curriculum in a few foundation subjects. The school has not clearly identified the specific knowledge and skills pupils should learn from the early years through to Year 6, and teachers are less secure in these subjects. As a result, pupils do not learn all the knowledge they need to be ready for their next stage. The report also notes that some staff have recently expressed concerns that their well-being is not a priority, although many staff feel supported by efforts to reduce workload.

Strengths

• Pupils love school and benefit from a wide variety of experiences.
• The curriculum is well planned and coherently sequenced in most subjects.
• Staff have strong subject knowledge and explain new learning clearly in most subjects.
• Pupils achieve highly in reading, with a strong phonics programme and effective catch-up support.
• Pupils with SEND are identified accurately and receive precise support, making strong progress.
• Pupils behave well, listen attentively and show positive learning behaviours.
• The school provides effective mental health support and a well-sequenced PSHE curriculum.
• Leaders, trustees and governors work well together and have the expertise for their roles.
• Attendance support is tailored and has improved attendance for many pupils, including those with SEND.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Early years children develop essential reading, writing and mathematical skills.

Areas for Improvement

• In some foundation subjects, the specific knowledge and skills pupils should learn from early years to Year 6 are not clearly defined.
• Teachers in these subjects are less secure in their subject knowledge and do not teach them as effectively.
• Pupils do not learn all the knowledge they need in these subjects to be ready for the next stage.
• Some staff have recently expressed concerns that their well-being is not a priority.

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 Woodville Primary School attended 95.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.2% 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, 0.2% of pupils at Woodville 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 Woodville Primary School had 26.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.7% 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, 12.4% of pupils at Woodville Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.6% 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 2023–24 Woodville Primary School received £5,762 and spent £5,750 for each of its 416 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £25,000 (£60 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of The Chelmsford Learning Partnership, income was £6,309 and spending £5,386 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.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Chelmsford · Essex local authority: places and applications

Woodville Primary School is part of The Chelmsford Learning Partnership, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• William de Ferrers School Chelmsford
• Rettendon Primary School Chelmsford
• Runwell Community Primary School Wickford
• Barnes Farm Primary School Chelmsford
• The Tyrrells School Chelmsford
• The Boswells School Chelmsford
• Perryfields Infant School Chelmsford
• The Beaulieu Park School Chelmsford
• Lakelands Primary School Colchester
• Roding Valley High School Loughton

What is Woodville Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Woodville Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Woodville Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Woodville Primary School have?

Woodville Primary School has 412 pupils on roll.

What age range does Woodville Primary School cover?

Woodville Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

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

In 2025, 67% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Woodville Primary School?

Woodville Primary School is at Brent Avenue, South Woodham Ferrers, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 5SE.