Wheelock Primary School

Wheelock Primary School has demonstrated a strong overall performance, achieving a 'Good' rating across all inspected areas. Pupils express a positive school experience, feeling safe, valued, and respected within a supportive learning environment. The quality of education is commendable, with high expectations for pupil achievement, and the curriculum is generally well-structured. The school has successfully prioritized personal development, enabling pupils to engage in leadership roles and contribute to school life meaningfully. Despite recent changes in staffing and leadership, the school maintains its commitment to providing a rich educational experience. However, there are some areas for improvement. In a small number of subjects, clarity around key knowledge and the sequence of teaching content is lacking, which has impacted teachers' ability to deliver lessons effectively. Some aspects of the assessment process are still developing, making it harder for teachers to identify pupils' knowledge gaps. Overall, the school is on a positive trajectory, with effective collaboration between the school and trust aimed at enhancing educational outcomes for all students.

Strengths

• Pupils feel happy, cared for, and safe at school.
• Strong culture of respect among students and staff.
• High-quality curriculum in most subjects with appropriate resources.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• Strong emphasis on personal development and leadership opportunities for pupils.
• Effective teaching of phonics and early reading.

Areas for Improvement

• Lack of clarity in key knowledge for a small number of subjects.
• Early stages of development in checking what pupils know over time in some subjects.

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 Wheelock Primary School attended 95.5% 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, 1.4% of pupils at Wheelock 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 Wheelock Primary School had 22.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.6% 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, 14.2% of pupils at Wheelock 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 2024–25 Wheelock Primary School received £6,555 and spent £6,716 for each of its 369 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £84,000 (£227 per pupil).

Across all 15 schools of The Learning Partnership Academies Trust, income was £7,536 and spending £7,682 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 Sandbach · Cheshire East local authority: places and applications

Wheelock Primary School is part of The Learning Partnership Academies Trust, which runs 15 schools. The nearest others:

• Sir William Stanier School Crewe
• Cheshire Studio School Crewe
• Crewe Engineering and Design UTC Crewe
• Leighton Academy Crewe
• The Oaks Academy Crewe
• Congleton High School Congleton
• Wistaston Church Lane Academy Crewe
• Shavington Primary School Crewe
• Black Firs Primary School Congleton
• Dove Bank Primary School Stoke-On-Trent

What is Wheelock Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Wheelock Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2024.

When was Wheelock Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Wheelock Primary School was last inspected in March 2024.

How many pupils does Wheelock Primary School have?

Wheelock Primary School has 394 pupils on roll.

What age range does Wheelock Primary School cover?

Wheelock Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Wheelock Primary School?

Wheelock Primary School is at Crewe Road, Sandbach, Cheshire, CW11 4PY.