Weston Mill Community Primary Academy

Weston Mill Community Primary Academy is a primary academy in the Discovery Multi-Academy Trust that has had an unsettled period since the pandemic, including several leadership changes and a new head of school appointed in September 2024. This was its first routine inspection since the pandemic. Inspectors found that most areas require improvement, although early years provision is good and safeguarding is effective. The school has taken steps to reset expectations and strengthen the curriculum, but recent changes are not yet fully embedded and pupils do not achieve well enough by the end of key stage 2. The strongest provision is in the early years, where children get off to a flying start in reading and phonics, and the strengthened mathematics curriculum is working well. Attendance has improved and support for pupils’ social, emotional and mental health needs has been strengthened. However, the curriculum does not reliably build on pupils’ knowledge, especially in key stage 1 writing, and pupils with SEND are not identified or supported precisely enough. Behaviour is not managed consistently, with low-level disruption and unruly behaviour at breaktimes and lunchtimes, and the trust’s behaviour records are not accurate enough to inform improvement. Some personal development content is also missed because of time pressures.

Strengths

• Early years provision gives children a strong start, particularly in reading and phonics.
• The Nursery effectively develops children’s sound knowledge and prepares them for Reception phonics.
• Most pupils succeed in the Year 1 national phonics screening check.
• The strengthened mathematics curriculum is working well, helping pupils remember and apply number facts.
• The school has reset behaviour expectations and pupils know the school rules.
• The atmosphere in the school is calm and many lessons proceed without incident.
• Attendance has improved year on year.
• Provision for pupils’ social, emotional and mental health needs has been strengthened, including through The HUT.
• Pupils enjoy debate and talk opportunities that build confidence and consideration of others’ views.
• The school offers enrichment through trips, experiences and the Discovery List.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not achieve well in national tests at the end of key stage 2.
• The curriculum does not enable pupils to build on their knowledge sufficiently well, especially in key stage 1 writing.
• Some pupils lack confidence in writing accurate words and sentences and cannot complete more ambitious work successfully.
• Pupils with SEND are not identified in a precise and timely way, and teachers are unsure how to meet some needs in class.
• Some pupils have been offered reduced timetables that do not prepare them well for future learning.
• Behaviour is not managed consistently, and low-level disruption reduces the impact of teaching.
• Pupils worry about boisterous behaviour at breaktimes and lunchtimes, including unruly football games.
• Some older pupils swear or make disrespectful comments and struggle to maintain good manners.
• The trust does not have a full and accurate picture of behaviour because school records are not always clear.
• Improvement strategies are not well focused because the trust lacks an incisive analysis of accurate behaviour records.
• Parts of the personal development programme are sometimes not taught due to time pressures, leaving pupils less well informed.

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 Weston Mill Community Primary Academy attended 91.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 22.6% 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, 4.8% of pupils at Weston Mill Community Primary Academy 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 Weston Mill Community Primary Academy had 20.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 41.7% 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, 24.5% of pupils at Weston Mill Community Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.3% 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 Weston Mill Community Primary Academy received £8,028 and spent £8,974 for each of its 195 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £401,000 (£2,061 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of Discovery Multi Academy Trust, income was £8,088 and spending £8,406 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 Plymouth · Plymouth local authority: places and applications

Weston Mill Community Primary Academy is part of Discovery Multi Academy Trust, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• Beechwood Primary Academy Plymouth
• Oakwood Primary Academy Plymouth

What is Weston Mill Community Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Weston Mill Community Primary Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Weston Mill Community Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Weston Mill Community Primary Academy was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Weston Mill Community Primary Academy have?

Weston Mill Community Primary Academy has 184 pupils on roll.

What age range does Weston Mill Community Primary Academy cover?

Weston Mill Community Primary Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Weston Mill Community Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 46% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Weston Mill Community Primary Academy?

Weston Mill Community Primary Academy is at Ferndale Road, Plymouth, Devon, PL2 2EL.