SCHOOL PROFILE

Willow Bank Primary School

Primary Academy sponsor led URN 136932
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 420 Published school capacity
Capacity used 43.3% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 4 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest inspection

3 March 2026
Latest published outcome Met
Renewed framework
Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Expected standard
Curriculum & teaching Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance & behaviour Expected standard
Personal development Expected standard
Leadership & governance Expected standard
INSPECTION HISTORY

Previous Ofsted activity

25 April 2023
Graded inspection Requires improvement
Published 19 June 2023
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy sponsor led
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Does not apply
Local authority Bexley
Trust THE WOODLAND ACADEMY TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 182 182 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 84 46.2% of pupils
Male pupils 98 53.8% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

56.0%
31.2 pts above England
School 56.0%
Bexley 20.2%
London 26.3%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

44.5%
24.2 pts above England
School 44.5%
Bexley 22.7%
London 39.2%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.5%
0.5 pts below England
School 0.5%
Bexley 0.6%
London 0.5%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

African
31.3%
57
White British
31.3%
57
Any other White background
7.1%
13
Gypsy / Roma
5.5%
10
Any other ethnic group
4.9%
9
White and Black Caribbean
3.3%
6
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 23.6% 43 of 182 pupils
2.8 pts above England England: 20.8%
School 23.6%
Bexley 19.4%
London 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 17.6% 32 pupils
England 14.8% 2.8 pts above
EHC plans 6.0% 11 pupils
England 6.0% 0.0 pts above
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 22
Social, emotional & mental health 11
Autistic spectrum disorder 5
No specialist assessment yet 3
Specific learning difficulty 2

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

58.0% 2.4 pts below England
School 58.0%
Bexley 63.9%
London 67.9%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

74.0%

0.2 pts above England

School 74.0%
Bexley 74.6%
London 78.2%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

63.0%

7.3 pts below England

School 63.0%
Bexley 73.3%
London 75.1%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

65.0%

7.0 pts below England

School 65.0%
Bexley 71.9%
London 77.7%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

4.61%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

1.61 pts lower than England
School 4.61%
Bexley 6.12%
London 6.38%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

13.13%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

2.68 pts lower than England
School 13.13%
Bexley 15.72%
London 17.60%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.51%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.30 pts lower than England
School 0.51%
Bexley 1.68%
London 1.67%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

43.3% 44.9 pts below England
Willow Bank Primary School
43.3%
Bexley
86.7%
London
85.9%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information