Wolborough Church of England Nursery and Primary School

Wolborough Church of England Nursery and Primary School is a small, inclusive school within Link Academy Trust. Safeguarding standards are met, and inspectors found a secure start in the early years, including effective expansion of nursery provision for two-year-olds. Children benefit from warm relationships, a well-designed early years curriculum and good support for communication, language, early reading and number. Inclusion is a clear strength: leaders know families well, identify additional needs quickly and draw on trust and external expertise to support pupils with SEND. Pupils feel safe, behaviour is generally calm and orderly, bullying is rare, and personal development is broad and inclusive, with strong enrichment and pastoral support. However, the school needs attention overall because achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance were flagged. English and mathematics are generally prepared well, and reading foundations have improved, but teaching across the wider curriculum is too variable. In several subjects, leaders have not identified precisely the most important knowledge pupils should learn and revisit, and assessment does not routinely adapt the curriculum to pupils' prior knowledge, including for pupils with SEND. Some pupils also remain at the early stages of reading for too long, including in key stage 2. Attendance is too low and persistent absence remains too high, especially for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, despite targeted support. Leadership has an accurate view of the school's strengths and weaknesses, and trust support is effective. Staff feel well supported, and parents are positive about the school's care and inclusive ethos. Nevertheless, some improvement priorities are not addressed with enough urgency, and leaders' monitoring and evaluation lack strategic oversight. The next steps focus on sharper oversight of improvement work, clearer identification of essential subject knowledge beyond English and mathematics, better adaptation of the curriculum to pupils' starting points, and continued work to improve attendance.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe.
• Early years provision gives children a secure start to education.
• Leaders managed the expansion of nursery provision for two-year-olds effectively.
• The early years curriculum is well designed for children's age and stage of development.
• Staff support communication, language, early reading, writing and number knowledge well.
• Leaders have established an inclusive culture and identify additional needs quickly.
• Staff expertise in supporting pupils with SEND is developed through regular training.
• Disadvantaged pupils typically achieve well in English and mathematics over time.
• Personal development and wellbeing provision is broad, inclusive and goes beyond the academic.
• Leaders track enrichment participation carefully and remove barriers to engagement.
• Pupils learn to be respectful and kind, and bullying is rare.
• Behaviour is built on positive relationships and clear, consistent expectations.
• Reading foundations have improved, with most pupils learning to read well.
• English and mathematics curricula are coherently planned and build learning progressively.
• Trust leaders provide appropriate support and challenge and share expertise effectively.
• Staff feel well supported for workload, wellbeing and training.
• Parents are positive about the care, support and inclusive ethos.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching across the wider curriculum is too variable.
• Leaders have not precisely identified the key knowledge pupils need to learn and revisit in all subjects.
• Pupils do not build secure knowledge in some subjects, slowing their progress.
• Assessment does not routinely inform adaptations to the curriculum.
• Learning does not always build securely on what pupils already know, including for pupils with SEND.
• Some pupils remain at the early stages of reading for too long, including some in key stage 2.
• Overall attendance is too low and persistent absence remains too high.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND attend less well than they should.
• Leaders' actions to improve attendance have not yet had the required impact.
• Some school improvement priorities are not addressed with sufficient urgency.
• Leaders' monitoring and evaluation of improvement work lacks strategic oversight.
• Pupils' understanding of different faiths and cultures is not as well developed as it could be.

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 Wolborough Church of England Nursery and Primary School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.0% 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, 1.6% of pupils at Wolborough Church of England Nursery and 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 Wolborough Church of England Nursery and Primary School had 22.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 27.6% 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, 20.6% of pupils at Wolborough Church of England Nursery and Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.2% 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 Wolborough Church of England Nursery and Primary School received £8,582 and spent £8,660 for each of its 187 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £80,000 (£425 per pupil).

Across all 23 schools of Link Academy Trust, income was £9,193 and spending £9,372 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 Newton Abbot · Devon local authority: places and applications

Wolborough Church of England Nursery and Primary School is part of Link Academy Trust, which runs 23 schools. The nearest others:

• Bearnes Voluntary Primary School Newton Abbot
• Broadhempston Village Primary School Totnes
• Ilsington Church of England Primary School Newton Abbot
• Landscove Church of England Primary School Nr Ashburton
• Hennock Community Primary School Newton Abbot
• Stoke Gabriel Primary School Totnes
• Widecombe-in-the-Moor Primary Newton Abbot
• Harbertonford Church of England Primary School Totnes
• Moretonhampstead Primary School Newton Abbot
• Littleham Church of England Primary School Exmouth

What is Wolborough Church of England Nursery and Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Wolborough Church of England Nursery and Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Wolborough Church of England Nursery and Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Wolborough Church of England Nursery and Primary School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Wolborough Church of England Nursery and Primary School have?

Wolborough Church of England Nursery and Primary School has 189 pupils on roll.

What age range does Wolborough Church of England Nursery and Primary School cover?

Wolborough Church of England Nursery and Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Wolborough Church of England Nursery and Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Wolborough Church of England Nursery and Primary School?

Wolborough Church of England Nursery and Primary School is at Union Street, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 2JX.