Weedon Bec Primary School

Weedon Bec Primary School has been judged to require special measures after a full inspection in May 2026. Safeguarding is met and pupils are happy, safe and well supported in their personal development, with positive behaviour, warm relationships, a strong sense of belonging and a good offer of trips, clubs and pastoral care. However, the school is failing to provide an acceptable standard of education, and leaders and governors are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement. The main weaknesses are in achievement, curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance. Pupils' outcomes at the end of Year 6 are significantly below national in almost all areas, especially reading and writing; early reading support is weak, gaps in writing are not identified, and many pupils, including those with SEND, are not ready for the next stage. Leaders do not have an accurate view of teaching quality, the planned curriculum is not consistently taught, expectations are sometimes too low, and improvement actions have not led to positive change. Governance lacks ambition and effective challenge, and has not prioritised reading and writing despite long-standing underperformance. Attendance and inclusion also need attention. Too many disadvantaged pupils are persistently absent, leaders do not routinely analyse this group's attendance, and pupil premium funding is not used effectively enough to improve attendance. The school does not have an appropriately qualified SENCo, and although SEND identification and support have improved with trust help, provision for some pupils' behaviour remains a barrier. Early years teaching is not consistently strong. The trust is involved in supporting improvement, and mathematics is beginning to show positive progress.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture where concerns are identified and acted on.
• Pupils are happy, feel safe and have a strong sense of belonging.
• Pupils behave well, are respectful and learn in calm, orderly classrooms.
• Personal development and wellbeing are well designed and sequenced, preparing pupils for life in modern Britain.
• Pupils learn how to stay safe, stay healthy and manage their emotions.
• Pastoral support is effective for most pupils and helps them be ready to learn.
• A wide range of trips, clubs, residentials and events develops pupils' talents and interests.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND are included in enrichment activities.
• Overall attendance has improved over time, and support for some families has had significant impact.
• Early years staff know children well and quickly identify barriers to learning and wellbeing.
• SEND identification and assessment are accurate, and specialist advice and external agencies are used appropriately.
• Recent trust-supported changes in mathematics teaching are beginning to have a positive impact.

Areas for Improvement

• The school requires special measures because it is failing to provide an acceptable standard of education.
• Leaders and governors are not demonstrating the capacity to secure necessary improvement.
• Pupils' attainment by the end of Year 6 is significantly below national averages in almost all areas.
• Pupils at early stages of reading do not develop fluency and accuracy, limiting access to the wider curriculum.
• Gaps in writing, including handwriting and basic punctuation, are not identified or closed.
• Many pupils, including those with SEND, are not ready for the next stage of education.
• Leaders do not have an accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of teaching.
• Leaders' improvement actions have not improved the effectiveness of teaching.
• Teachers lack the knowledge to teach early reading and writing effectively.
• Teachers do not consistently check pupils' work to identify and address gaps.
• Expectations of what pupils can achieve are sometimes too low.
• The planned curriculum is not consistently taught across subjects and year groups.
• Some pupils with SEND are not supported well to manage their behaviour.
• The school does not have an appropriately qualified special educational needs coordinator.
• Too many disadvantaged pupils are persistently absent.
• Leaders do not routinely analyse attendance information for disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupil premium funding is not used effectively to improve disadvantaged pupils' attendance.
• The early years curriculum is not consistently taught well, with missed opportunities in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Governance lacks ambition for pupils and does not effectively hold leaders to account.
• Reading and writing underperformance has not been prioritised by those responsible for governance.
• Leaders' evaluations of their work are not accurate, so improvement priorities do not lead to positive change.

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 Weedon Bec Primary School attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.3% 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, 1.5% of pupils at Weedon Bec 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 Weedon Bec Primary School had 17.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.8% 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, 11.0% of pupils at Weedon Bec Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.5% 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 Weedon Bec Primary School received £6,888 and spent £6,738 for each of its 186 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £215,000 (£1,161 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of Innovate Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,160 and spending £7,003 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 Northampton · West Northamptonshire local authority: places and applications

Weedon Bec Primary School is part of Innovate Multi Academy Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Badby School Badby
• Rothersthorpe Church of England Primary School Northampton
• Woodford Halse Church of England Primary Academy Daventry
• Kilsby Church of England Primary School Rugby
• Paulerspury Church of England Primary School Towcester

What is Weedon Bec Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Weedon Bec Primary School is Urgent improvement, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Weedon Bec Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Weedon Bec Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Weedon Bec Primary School have?

Weedon Bec Primary School has 182 pupils on roll.

What age range does Weedon Bec Primary School cover?

Weedon Bec Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 30% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Weedon Bec Primary School?

Weedon Bec Primary School is at West Street, Weedon, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN7 4QU.