Windmill Hill Primary School

About Windmill Hill Primary School

Windmill Hill Primary School in Halton was rated Good overall in its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2024, with inspectors singling out behaviour and attitudes as Outstanding. That judgement is backed up by the school’s strongest exam metric: 75 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at Key Stage 2 in the 2023/24 academic year. That figure is well above the Halton local authority average of 59 per cent, placing Windmill Hill 7th out of 43 primary schools in the area — comfortably inside the top 25 per cent nationally. The school’s reading results were particularly strong, with 90 per cent of pupils reaching the expected standard and 35 per cent achieving the higher standard. In maths, 75 per cent hit the expected mark and 15 per cent reached the higher threshold. Writing saw 80 per cent at expected and 20 per cent at higher. Average scaled scores of 107 in reading and 104 in maths further underline solid academic performance across the board.

The school’s Ofsted report shows a slight dip from its previous Outstanding rating in 2013, but the 2024 inspection still awarded Good across all key areas: quality of education, early years provision, personal development, and leadership and management. The standout Outstanding grade for behaviour and attitudes reflects a school where pupils are well-disciplined and engaged. With only 144 pupils on roll against a capacity of 175, the school is undersubscribed overall, but it was oversubscribed for Reception places in 2025/26, receiving 33 applications for 22 places — a ratio of 1.5 applicants per spot. All 22 first-preference applicants were offered a place. Over half of pupils (53.5 per cent) are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average, indicating a community with significant socioeconomic challenges that the school appears to be successfully supporting.

Windmill Hill offers a broad range of facilities including a library, sports hall, ICT suite, playing fields, and a forest school area. Sports provision covers rounders, cricket, netball, gymnastics, football, tennis and dance, while clubs include eco club, film club and gardening. The school’s SEND provision supports pupils with moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication difficulties, and physical disabilities. The headteacher is Paula Newman. This is a small, community-focused primary that punches above its weight academically given its intake, and would suit families looking for a school with strong behaviour standards, a good range of enrichment activities, and proven results in helping children from disadvantaged backgrounds achieve well above the local average.

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