Fitzwilliam Primary School

Fitzwilliam Primary School is a happy, caring school where pupils are well looked after and behaviour is good. The inspection found strong provision in behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years, with reading and phonics a particular strength. Pupils are proud of their school, attendance is positive, and personal development, including PSHE and understanding of British values, is a notable strength. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The quality of education requires improvement. In some subjects, the curriculum does not clearly identify the most important knowledge pupils need to learn and remember, and teaching does not consistently focus on that content. Mathematics is being strengthened, but pupils are not consistently taught basic number facts and mental arithmetic strategies, which slows their progress. The school also does not consistently use assessment information to identify strengths and weaknesses in curriculum implementation. Leaders, supported by the trust and local governors, are bringing important improvements after an unsettled period and significant leadership changes. The school has strong capacity for continued improvement, and provision is improving rapidly. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it remains part of the Inspire Partnership Multi-Academy Trust.

Strengths

• Happy, caring and well-ordered school environment
• Pupils behave well and respond positively to expectations
• Positive rates of attendance
• Personal development provision is a strength
• Strong PSHE programme and understanding of British values
• Well-organised and well-taught phonics programme
• Strong reading culture and keen readers
• Good start in early years with strong social and emotional provision
• Typically effective support for pupils with SEND
• Nurture group provides bespoke, tailored support
• Leadership has strong capacity for continued improvement
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Wide range of visits and activities build cultural capital

Areas for Improvement

• Quality of education requires improvement
• Curriculum does not consistently identify the most important knowledge pupils should learn
• Teaching does not consistently focus on the intended important content
• Pupils do not learn and remember some important curriculum content as well as they should
• Mathematics teaching does not consistently secure basic number facts and mental arithmetic
• Assessment information is not used consistently to identify curriculum strengths and weaknesses
• Some pupils have gaps in knowledge linked to shortcomings in the previous curriculum

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 Fitzwilliam Primary School attended 95.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.9% 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, 6.2% of pupils at Fitzwilliam 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 Fitzwilliam Primary School had 21.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 37.5% 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, 19.6% of pupils at Fitzwilliam Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.6% 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 Fitzwilliam Primary School received £6,116 and spent £6,801 for each of its 221 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £5,000 (-£21 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Inspire Partnership Multi Academy Trust, income was £6,468 and spending £6,416 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 Pontefract · Wakefield local authority: places and applications

Fitzwilliam Primary School is part of Inspire Partnership Multi Academy Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• South Hiendley Primary School Barnsley
• Grove Lea Primary School Pontefract
• Featherstone Girnhill Infant School Pontefract
• Ash Grove Primary Academy Pontefract
• Ackton Pastures Primary Academy Castleford
• Half Acres Primary Academy Castleford
• Towngate Primary Academy Ossett
• Gawthorpe Community Academy Ossett

What is Fitzwilliam Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Fitzwilliam Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Fitzwilliam Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Fitzwilliam Primary School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Fitzwilliam Primary School have?

Fitzwilliam Primary School has 224 pupils on roll.

What age range does Fitzwilliam Primary School cover?

Fitzwilliam Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 50% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Fitzwilliam Primary School?

Fitzwilliam Primary School is at Second Avenue, Pontefract, WF9 5BA.