The Winstanley School

The Winstanley School has made significant progress since its last inspection and is now rated as good overall. Leaders and staff have implemented an ambitious curriculum that aims to meet the needs of pupils, resulting in improved quality of education. The school environment is supportive, with pupils feeling happy and safe, and they demonstrate positive behavior in lessons. There is a strong focus on developing pupils' reading skills, and the school provides a wide array of extracurricular activities that enhance personal development. However, attendance remains a challenge, especially for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs, affecting their overall progress.

Strengths

• Strong leadership with a clear vision for success.
• Ambitious curriculum designed to meet pupil needs.
• Effective professional development for teachers.
• Good-quality support for pupils with SEND.
• Positive pupil behavior and a safe school environment.
• Wide range of extracurricular activities available.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' attendance below pre-pandemic levels.
• Inconsistent checking of pupil understanding across 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 The Winstanley School attended 87.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 33.8% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 21.9% of pupils at The Winstanley School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 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 The Winstanley School had 16.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.1% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 21.2% of pupils at The Winstanley School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 8.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has a SEN unit with 18 pupils.

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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 The Winstanley School received £9,860 and spent £9,480 for each of its 639 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £339,000 (£530 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of Life Multi-Academy Trust, income was £8,357 and spending £8,230 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 Leicester · Leicestershire local authority: places and applications

The Winstanley School is part of Life Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Kingsway Primary School Leicester
• Braunstone Frith Primary Academy Leicester
• Bosworth Academy Leicester
• Countesthorpe Academy Countesthorpe
• Desford Community Primary School Leicester
• Dove Bank Primary School Nuneaton
• Ibstock School Ibstock
• Ashby School Ashby-De-La-Zouch
• Ivanhoe School Ashby-De-La-Zouch

What is The Winstanley School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Winstanley School is Good, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was The Winstanley School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Winstanley School was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does The Winstanley School have?

The Winstanley School has 643 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Winstanley School cover?

The Winstanley School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are The Winstanley School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 34.9, and 23% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Winstanley School?

The Winstanley School is at Kingsway North, Braunstone Town, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE3 3BD.