Willow Farm Primary School

Willow Farm Primary School is a small, inclusive primary within the Equals Trust that is performing strongly overall. Inspectors found that pupils achieve well from their starting points, with particularly secure progress in early reading and strong outcomes for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The school’s nurturing and inclusive culture, effective leadership and governance, rich personal development offer, and positive attendance are notable strengths, and safeguarding standards are met. Since the last inspection, the school has registered nursery provision for three-year-olds, which inspectors found to be thoughtfully led and well matched to children’s developmental needs.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve well and produce high-quality work across a range of subjects
• Disadvantaged pupils’ attainment is above other pupils nationally in recent years
• Reading and phonics outcomes are strong, including at the end of Year 6
• Early years provision is warm, well sequenced and prepares children very well for Year 1
• The school is highly inclusive, with timely and well-matched support for SEND and disadvantaged pupils
• Leadership and governance are strong, with effective trust support and clear improvement priorities
• Personal development is rich, community-rooted and builds pupils’ confidence and character
• Attendance is above national average and persistent absence is significantly below national average
• Pupils are polite, respectful and behave well, with bullying and unkind language very rare
• Relationships across year groups and the school community are a particular strength
• The curriculum is well planned and ambitious, with teachers demonstrating strong subject knowledge
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture of safeguarding

Areas for Improvement

• Expectations for technical accuracy in writing, including spelling, punctuation and grammar, are not consistently high across all subjects
• Learning activities are not always designed to provide appropriate challenge for all pupils, including those ready to work at greater depth
• Occasional lapses in concentration affect learning, and teaching and engagement strategies need further refinement

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 Willow Farm Primary School attended 96.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.8% 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, 0.9% of pupils at Willow Farm 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 Willow Farm Primary School had 21.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.2% 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, 10.3% of pupils at Willow Farm Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.8% 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 Willow Farm Primary School received £6,370 and spent £6,462 for each of its 214 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £40,000 (-£188 per pupil).

Across all 18 schools of Equals Trust, income was £5,585 and spending £5,744 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 Nottingham · Nottinghamshire local authority: places and applications

Willow Farm Primary School is part of Equals Trust, which runs 19 schools. The nearest others:

• Netherfield Primary School Nottingham
• Burton Joyce Primary School Nottingham
• Richard Bonington Primary and Nursery School Nottingham
• Abbey Road Primary School Nottingham
• Heymann Primary and Nursery School Nottingham
• Tollerton Primary School Nottingham
• Robert Miles Junior School Nottingham
• Cropwell Bishop Primary School Nottingham
• Crossdale Primary School Nottingham
• Round Hill Primary School Nottingham

What is Willow Farm Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Willow Farm Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in February 2026.

When was Willow Farm Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Willow Farm Primary School was last inspected in February 2026.

How many pupils does Willow Farm Primary School have?

Willow Farm Primary School has 243 pupils on roll.

What age range does Willow Farm Primary School cover?

Willow Farm Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Willow Farm Primary School?

Willow Farm Primary School is at Willow Lane, Gedling, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG4 4BN.