Woodhouse West Primary School

Woodhouse West Primary School is a warm, welcoming school where pupils are courteous, respectful and feel happy. Staff have high expectations of behaviour and have built strong, trusting relationships with pupils, supported by a clear anti-bullying culture. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first section 5 inspection; it is part of Sheffield South East Trust. Inspectors judged the school to be good across all key areas, including early years provision, with effective safeguarding arrangements in place. The school is ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND, and most pupils achieve well. Reading is a particular strength: staff teach phonics skilfully, pupils learn to read quickly, and those who fall behind are generally well supported. A recently introduced writing curriculum is also proving effective after previous weaknesses in writing. Early years provision is strong, with highly skilled staff and purposeful activities that prepare children well for Year 1. Leadership, governance and staff training are effective, and pupils benefit from leadership opportunities and a range of enriching experiences. The main area for improvement is assessment in some wider curriculum subjects. Teachers do not consistently check how well pupils remember important concepts over time, and some pupils develop gaps in knowledge that are not swiftly addressed. The school should strengthen assessment strategies so that pupils retain key knowledge in the long term. Some younger pupils would also benefit from more practice to develop reading fluency, and a small number of parents feel communication could be more effective; the school is already taking action on both points.

Strengths

• Warm and welcoming school culture with courteous and respectful pupils
• Strong anti-bullying culture and trusting relationships between staff and pupils
• High expectations of behaviour across the school
• Ambitious staff who want all pupils, including those with SEND, to achieve well
• Effective reading curriculum with skilled phonics teaching and good support for pupils who fall behind
• New writing curriculum is effective and improving pupils’ writing
• Ambitious curriculum with clear sequencing and strong teacher subject knowledge
• Swift identification of SEND and effective use of external expertise
• Highly skilled early years staff and purposeful activities that prepare children well for Year 1
• Effective training and support for staff, with most feeling workload is well managed
• Governance provides effective challenge and support
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In some wider curriculum subjects, teachers do not check how well pupils remember learning over time
• Some pupils develop gaps in knowledge in wider curriculum subjects that are not swiftly addressed
• Some younger pupils would benefit from more practice to develop reading fluency
• A small number of parents feel the school could communicate more effectively with them

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 Woodhouse West Primary School attended 92.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 21.9% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Woodhouse West 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 Woodhouse West Primary School had 17.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.4% 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, 33.1% of pupils at Woodhouse West Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.0% 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 Woodhouse West Primary School received £7,017 and spent £7,054 for each of its 395 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £142,000 (£359 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Sheffield South East Trust, income was £7,381 and spending £7,615 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.

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All schools in Sheffield · Sheffield local authority: places and applications

Woodhouse West Primary School is part of Sheffield South East Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Gleadless Primary School Sheffield
• Acres Hill Community Primary School Sheffield
• Norfolk Community Primary School Sheffield
• Manor Lodge Community Primary and Nursery School Sheffield
• Wybourn Community Primary & Nursery School Sheffield
• Phillimore Community Primary School Sheffield

What is Woodhouse West Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Woodhouse West Primary School is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Woodhouse West Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Woodhouse West Primary School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Woodhouse West Primary School have?

Woodhouse West Primary School has 366 pupils on roll.

What age range does Woodhouse West Primary School cover?

Woodhouse West Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 46% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Woodhouse West Primary School?

Woodhouse West Primary School is at Coisley Hill, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S13 7BP.