North Leigh Church of England School

North Leigh Church of England School is performing well overall, with an overall effectiveness rating of good. The school provides a nurturing environment where pupils feel unique yet part of a close community. They demonstrate a strong understanding of the school’s core values and exhibit positive behaviour. The leadership is attentive and ensures a well-structured curriculum is in place, especially in subjects like mathematics and music. While most pupils achieve well, there are areas in some subjects where the curriculum is not as robustly developed, which affects the depth of knowledge some pupils obtain. Additionally, the new reading curriculum is still being fully implemented, leading to some disadvantaged pupils not achieving to their full potential. The school is actively working to address these disparities through targeted support initiatives.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and valued in a nurturing environment.
• Strong relationships and respect are evident among pupils and staff.
• Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum for all pupils.
• Effective phonics program with additional support for struggling readers.
• Pupils with SEND receive effective support to help them achieve.
• High attendance rates among pupils.
• Positive feedback from parents, pupils, and staff regarding school leadership.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, the curriculum lacks clarity leading to uneven pupil achievement.
• A small number of disadvantaged pupils underperform in reading.

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 North Leigh Church of England School attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.4% 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, 3.7% of pupils at North Leigh Church of England 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 North Leigh Church of England School had 23.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 25.0% 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, 7.8% of pupils at North Leigh Church of England School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.2% 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 North Leigh Church of England School received £6,844 and spent £7,519 for each of its 162 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £31,000 (-£193 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.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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

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

• The Blake Church of England Primary School Witney
• The Batt Church of England Primary School Witney
• St Mary's Church of England Infant School Witney
• Leafield Church of England Primary School Witney
• Brize Norton Primary School Carterton
• Bampton CofE Primary School Bampton
• Tackley Church of England Primary School Kidlington
• North Hinksey Church of England Primary School Oxford
• Burford Primary School Burford
• Dr South's Church of England Primary School Kidlington

What is North Leigh Church of England School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for North Leigh Church of England School is Good, from an inspection in March 2023.

When was North Leigh Church of England School last inspected by Ofsted?

North Leigh Church of England School was last inspected in March 2023.

How many pupils does North Leigh Church of England School have?

North Leigh Church of England School has 154 pupils on roll.

What age range does North Leigh Church of England School cover?

North Leigh Church of England School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are North Leigh Church of England School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 79% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is North Leigh Church of England School?

North Leigh Church of England School is at Park Road, North Leigh, Witney, Oxfordshire, OX29 6SS.