Winstanley Community Primary School

About Winstanley Community Primary School

Winstanley Community Primary School was rated Outstanding in its most recent graded Ofsted inspection in 2016, and an ungraded inspection in February 2024 confirmed the school remains at that highest level. The inspection team awarded top marks across the board, with leadership and management, early years provision, and overall effectiveness all judged Outstanding. That rating places it among just 16 primary schools in Wigan to hold Outstanding status, out of 99 in the local authority. On the key academic measure for primary schools, 67% of its Year 6 pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined in the 2023/24 assessments. That is slightly above the Wigan local authority average of 65%, though the school ranks 47th out of 98 primaries in the area on this metric. The school’s ranking score of 67 places it in the top 50 nationally for this measure, though it sits behind local peers like Nicol Mere School and Gilded Hollins Community School.

Looking more closely at the 2023/24 KS2 results, Winstanley’s pupils performed solidly across the three core subjects. In reading, the average scaled score was 106, with 77% of pupils reaching the expected standard and 27% achieving a higher standard. In maths, the average score was also 106, with 90% meeting the expected standard and 23% reaching the higher threshold. Writing saw 85% of pupils at the expected level and 31% at the higher level. The combined expected standard figure of 67% is a reasonable outcome, though it leaves room for improvement compared with the strongest performers in the borough. The school does not publish Progress 8 scores, so it is not possible to see how much value it adds relative to pupils’ starting points. The Ofsted report from 2016 noted strong leadership and management, and the 2024 ungraded inspection found no reason to change that judgement, which suggests the school has maintained its standards over time.

Winstanley is a three-to-eleven mixed primary school in Wigan with a nursery provision and a capacity of 475 pupils, currently housing 447. It is oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 intake, there were 126 applications for 55 places, with all 55 first-preference applicants receiving offers, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.29. The school offers a broad range of facilities including a sports hall, library, ICT suite, sensory room, playing fields and even a chapel. Sports provision covers netball, rounders, dance, swimming, cross country, cricket and football, while clubs include drama, gardening, eco club, choir and chess. The school’s SEND provisions are extensive, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, hearing and multi-sensory impairments, physical disability, autistic spectrum disorder and other difficulties. This makes it a strong option for families whose children need additional support, particularly given the sensory room on site. With 12.6% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a broadly mixed catchment.

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