Windmill Hill Primary School

Windmill Hill Primary School is judged to be meeting expected standards across all areas, with safeguarding standards met. It is a caring school where pupils feel safe, behave well and are well supported, and leaders have developed a well-designed curriculum with particularly strong phonics and early reading. The school is part of the Steel City Schools Partnership and has undergone significant leadership changes since its last inspection. Notable strengths include early years provision, inclusion and support for pupils with SEND, personal development and enrichment, governance, staff development and parent engagement. Attendance is above national figures for most groups, including pupils with SEND, although persistent absence remains too high for a small number of pupils. Disadvantaged pupils’ attainment is below national averages and the disadvantage gap remains wide; leaders have identified this and put actions in place, but these are not yet precise enough. Some inconsistencies remain in curriculum implementation. In some classes, lessons are not well matched to pupils’ prior knowledge, and teachers do not always identify misconceptions quickly enough, which slows progress for some pupils. The next steps focus on ensuring consistent implementation of the school’s agreed curriculum and teaching approaches, matching learning to pupils’ needs, and improving attendance for specific groups.

Strengths

• Strong phonics and early reading provision, with Year 1 phonics outcomes above national and improving.
• Warm, nurturing early years provision with a clear curriculum and strong focus on language and communication.
• Effective inclusion and SEND support, with pupils learning alongside peers and accessing the full curriculum.
• Broad personal development offer, including clubs, residentials and music, with strong participation across groups.
• Pupils feel safe, behave well and understand the school’s golden rules.
• Overall attendance is above national for most groups, including pupils with SEND.
• Governance is well informed and provides appropriate support and challenge.
• Leaders prioritise staff development and wellbeing, and staff value the support they receive.
• Strong parent and community engagement, including workshops and stay-and-play sessions.
• Pupils are generally well prepared for secondary school and develop confidence and independence.

Areas for Improvement

• Disadvantaged pupils’ attainment is below national and the disadvantage gap remains wide.
• Leaders have not focused precisely enough on the attainment and attendance of some pupil groups.
• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent in some classes.
• Some lessons are not well matched to pupils’ prior knowledge and abilities.
• Teachers do not always identify misconceptions quickly enough, slowing progress for some pupils.
• Persistent absence remains too high for a small number of pupils despite support.
• Improvements in attendance for targeted pupils have not been as rapid as leaders would like.
• Some pupils become less engaged when work is not appropriately pitched.

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 Windmill Hill Primary School attended 95.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.4% 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, 1.4% of pupils at Windmill Hill 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 Windmill Hill Primary School had 23.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 28.6% 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, 22.2% of pupils at Windmill Hill Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.1% 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 Windmill Hill Primary School received £6,674 and spent £6,711 for each of its 278 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £4,000 (£13 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of Steel City Schools Partnership, income was £7,074 and spending £6,980 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 Sheffield · Sheffield local authority: places and applications

Windmill Hill Primary School is part of Steel City Schools Partnership, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Lound Infant School Sheffield
• Lound Junior School Sheffield
• Monteney Primary School Sheffield
• Mansel Primary Sheffield
• Fox Hill Primary Sheffield
• Bankwood Primary School Sheffield
• Woodseats Primary School Sheffield
• Greenhill Primary School Sheffield
• Brook House Junior Sheffield

What is Windmill Hill Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Windmill Hill Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Windmill Hill Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Windmill Hill Primary School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Windmill Hill Primary School have?

Windmill Hill Primary School has 266 pupils on roll.

What age range does Windmill Hill Primary School cover?

Windmill Hill Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

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

In 2025, 44% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Windmill Hill Primary School?

Windmill Hill Primary School is at Ash View, Chapeltown, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S35 1ZD.