Windwhistle Primary School

Windwhistle Primary School is recovering from a prolonged period of leadership and staffing turbulence that had left too many pupils without an acceptable standard of education. The new headteacher and trust leaders have stabilised the school, raised expectations and improved the quality of pupils' work, behaviour and attendance, but published outcomes remain low and most areas are graded as needing attention. Safeguarding standards are met, and early years is the strongest area, with children getting a flying start through an ambitious curriculum and skilled staff.

Strengths

• Early years provision gives nursery and Reception children a flying start through an ambitious, well-designed curriculum.
• Skilled early years staff maintain high expectations and focus strongly on communication, language and vocabulary.
• The early years physical environment and activities are purposeful, supporting fine motor skills and early handwriting.
• Phonics teaching in early years and key stage 1 is a growing strength.
• School and trust leaders have stabilised the school and created a culture of higher expectations after significant turbulence.
• The curriculum is well planned and rich in skills and knowledge, with clear assessment systems.
• Pupils take pride in their presentation, handwriting is improving, and mathematical calculations are increasingly precise.
• Attendance and persistent absence are improving, supported by robust monitoring and personalised family support.
• Behaviour systems are well established, behaviour is generally calm and improving, and pupils report feeling safe.
• Leaders and staff know pupils well and are raising aspirations for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Pupils with the highest levels of need are well supported with precise, achievable targets.
• Pupil premium funding is effectively allocated, and alternative provision is well considered and reviewed.
• Governance and trust oversight are clear, with external support providing an effective balance of support and challenge.
• Staff are committed and feel leaders consider their workload and wellbeing, with professional development supporting new staff.
• The school celebrates diversity, promotes British values, and offers university links, trips and sports clubs.
• Parents are highly supportive, and pupils are proud of their school, kind and polite to one another.

Areas for Improvement

• Too many pupils are not appropriately prepared for the next stage of their education.
• Year 1 phonics screening outcomes are not high enough.
• Too few pupils achieve the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• Significant past leadership and staffing turbulence led to teaching not being effective enough.
• Too many pupils, especially in key stage 2, have gaps in foundational knowledge that hinder their learning.
• Attendance remains below the national average, including for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Too many behaviour incidents still lead to pupils being suspended.
• Some teaching is not as effective as it could be, partly because not all staff have needed training in phonics and oracy.
• Older pupils are not always supported well enough to close gaps in their phonics knowledge.
• Teachers' ongoing checks on what pupils know and remember are not always effective, so some pupils move on without securing key knowledge.
• In some subjects, pupils do not build consistently on previous learning.
• Barriers to learning for some disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND are not identified precisely enough.
• Learning is not always adapted effectively for some disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, so they do not progress as well as they could.
• The personal development programme and wider enrichment are not as rich, varied or coherent as they could be.
• At times, pupils are not clear how trips link to what they are learning in class.
• Leaders must continue improving achievement so all pupils reach the standards they are capable of in national tests.

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 Windwhistle Primary School attended 91.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 31.3% 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, 5.4% of pupils at Windwhistle Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Windwhistle Primary School had 19.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.6% 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, 28.1% of pupils at Windwhistle Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.0% 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 Windwhistle Primary School received £8,088 and spent £8,374 for each of its 322 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £158,000 (£492 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Extend Learning Academies Network, income was £7,731 and spending £7,803 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 Weston-Super-Mare · North Somerset local authority: places and applications

Windwhistle Primary School is part of Extend Learning Academies Network, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Bournville Primary School Weston-Super-Mare
• Oldmixon Primary School Weston-Super-Mare
• Walliscote Primary School Weston-Super-Mare
• Milton Park Primary School Weston-Super-Mare
• Mead Vale Community Primary School Weston-Super-Mare
• Locking Primary School Weston-Super-Mare
• Mendip Green Primary School Weston-Super-Mare
• Banwell Primary School Banwell

What is Windwhistle Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Windwhistle Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Windwhistle Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Windwhistle Primary School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Windwhistle Primary School have?

Windwhistle Primary School has 331 pupils on roll.

What age range does Windwhistle Primary School cover?

Windwhistle Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 42% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Windwhistle Primary School?

Windwhistle Primary School is at Kingsley Road, Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, BS23 3TZ.