Mount Wise Community Primary School

Mount Wise Community Primary School is a caring, inclusive school where pupils feel safe, valued and cared for. Early years is a real strength: children from age 2 benefit from nurturing, language-rich provision, well-coordinated SEND support and strong leadership. Behaviour is calm and improving, inclusion support is well tailored, and leadership, governance and personal development are secure. Safeguarding standards are met. The school is part of Learning Academies Trust and serves a community with well-above-average free school meals and deprivation. Most areas are judged to meet the expected standard, but achievement needs attention. Key Stage 2 national assessment outcomes have been below national averages in recent years, although they are improving, and disadvantaged pupils' outcomes lag behind national non-disadvantaged pupils in several measures. Attendance is also a concern: overall and persistent absence are above national averages, and leaders are working hard with families and external agencies to improve rates. The next steps are to strengthen the consistency of teaching and learning so that all pupils, especially in Key Stage 2, build, retain and apply knowledge securely and achieve the best possible outcomes, and to keep refining attendance strategies so that systems and support secure the highest possible attendance for all pupils.

Strengths

• Early years provision is a real strength, giving children from age 2 a nurturing, language-rich start.
• Children with SEND in early years receive well-coordinated support alongside their peers.
• Pupils feel safe, valued and cared for in a calm and welcoming environment.
• Behaviour is calm and improving, with pupils increasingly able to regulate and reflect.
• Leaders provide highly personalised support for pupils with the most complex needs.
• Curriculum systems and teaching approaches are consistent and effective across the school.
• Reading, writing and mathematics are prioritised, with accurate language modelling and strong vocabulary development.
• Inclusion is well tailored, with additional funding used effectively to reduce barriers.
• Leadership and governance are strong, supported by effective trust support and staff development.
• Personal development is broad and ambitious, with rich enrichment, community links and safety education.
• Safeguarding standards are met.

Areas for Improvement

• Key Stage 2 national assessment outcomes have been below national average in recent years.
• Disadvantaged pupils' outcomes lag behind national non-disadvantaged pupils, particularly in mathematics and writing.
• Overall and persistent absence rates are above national averages.
• Assessment is not consistently sharp enough to challenge pupils who are ready to move on faster.
• Teaching and learning consistency needs strengthening so all pupils, especially in Key Stage 2, retain and apply knowledge securely.
• Attendance strategies need further refinement to secure the highest possible rates for all pupils.

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 Mount Wise Community Primary School attended 90.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 28.6% 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, 4.3% of pupils at Mount Wise Community 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 Mount Wise Community Primary School had 17.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.6% 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, 14.5% of pupils at Mount Wise Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.8% 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 Mount Wise Community Primary School received £8,681 and spent £8,377 for each of its 244 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £247,000 (£1,015 per pupil).

Across all 18 schools of Learning Academies Trust, income was £7,222 and spending £6,990 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 Plymouth · Plymouth local authority: places and applications

Mount Wise Community Primary School is part of Learning Academies Trust, which runs 18 schools. The nearest others:

• Ford Primary School Plymouth
• Mount Street Primary School Plymouth
• Mayflower Academy Plymouth
• Hyde Park Junior School Plymouth
• Hyde Park Infants' School Plymouth
• Salisbury Road Primary School Plymouth
• Victoria Road Primary Plymouth
• Prince Rock Primary School Plymouth
• Plaistow Hill Primary and Nursery School Plymouth
• Hooe Primary Academy Plymouth

What is Mount Wise Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Mount Wise Community Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Mount Wise Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Mount Wise Community Primary School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Mount Wise Community Primary School have?

Mount Wise Community Primary School has 248 pupils on roll.

What age range does Mount Wise Community Primary School cover?

Mount Wise Community Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Mount Wise Community Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 49% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Mount Wise Community Primary School?

Mount Wise Community Primary School is at James Street, Devonport, Plymouth, Devon, PL1 4LA.