Woodlands Primary School

Woodlands Primary has made significant progress since its previous inspection, moving from requiring improvement to a good rating overall. The school provides a caring and stimulating environment where pupils feel happy and safe, demonstrating pride in their school community. With a strong focus on education, personal development, and reading, the curriculum is well planned and aims to meet the needs of all students, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, there is a recognition that the challenge for the most able pupils is variable, warranting further improvement.

Strengths

• Caring and welcoming environment for pupils
• Focused curriculum with ambitions to meet community needs
• Effective support for pupils with SEND
• Broad range of wider opportunities for pupils
• High expectations and supportive staff

Areas for Improvement

• Need for more consistent challenges for the most able pupils
• Requirement for further subject-specific staff training

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 Woodlands Primary School attended 91.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 25.7% 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, 3.4% of pupils at Woodlands 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 Woodlands Primary School had 18.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 28.6% 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, 27.1% of pupils at Woodlands Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 9.2% 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 Woodlands Primary School received £8,461 and spent £7,898 for each of its 449 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £417,000 (£928 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Mercia Learning Trust, income was £7,744 and spending £7,540 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 Sheffield · Sheffield local authority: places and applications

Woodlands Primary School is part of Mercia Learning Trust, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• Newfield Secondary School Sheffield
• Anns Grove Primary School Sheffield
• Nether Edge Primary School Sheffield
• Mercia School Sheffield
• King Ecgbert School Sheffield
• Totley Primary School Sheffield
• Mercia Northridge School Sheffield

What is Woodlands Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Woodlands Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2022.

When was Woodlands Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Woodlands Primary School was last inspected in March 2022.

How many pupils does Woodlands Primary School have?

Woodlands Primary School has 465 pupils on roll.

What age range does Woodlands Primary School cover?

Woodlands Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 39% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Woodlands Primary School?

Woodlands Primary School is at Norton Avenue, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S14 1SL.