John Wheeldon Primary Academy
Corporation Street, Stafford, ST16 3LX
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Claire Clarke
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Staffordshire University Academies Trust
- Constituency
- Stafford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 515
- Pupils on roll
- 536
- URN
- 141186
- Local authority
- Staffordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01785594444
About this school
John Wheeldon Primary Academy is a primary academy in Stafford. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 536 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected John Wheeldon Primary Academy, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 77 | 77 | 80 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 55% | 53% | 69% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 5% | 15% |
| Expected standard in reading | 69% | 66% | 78% |
| Expected standard in maths | 78% | 73% | 75% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 74% | 77% | 76% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 103.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 103.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.60 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How John Wheeldon Primary Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Staffordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 55% | 59.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 53% | 61.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 69% | 62% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 509 |
| 2023/24 | 540 |
| 2024/25 | 538 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How John Wheeldon Primary Academy compares
John Wheeldon Primary Academy ranked 100th of 229 primary schools in Staffordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 69% | 5.7% | 30.3% | 536 | — |
| St Patrick's Catholic Primary School | 73% | 6.5% | 21.3% | 213 | 0.2 miles |
| Tillington Manor Primary School | 60% | 4.9% | 43.2% | 214 | 0.8 miles |
| St Austin's Catholic Primary School and Nursery | 75% | 4.1% | 13.1% | 221 | 0.9 miles |
| St John's CofE Primary Academy | 67% | 4.7% | 12.5% | 410 | 0.9 miles |
| St Paul's Church of England Primary School | — | — | — | 97 | 1.0 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report18 June 2025
- 11 September 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 30.3%
- English as an additional language
- 16.4%
- Overall absence
- 5.72%
- Persistent absence
- 14.06%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Patrick's Catholic Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Stafford
-
Tillington Manor Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Stafford
-
St Austin's Catholic Primary School and Nursery0.9 miles
Primary · Stafford
-
St John's CofE Primary Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Stafford
-
St Paul's Church of England Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Stafford
Other schools in Stafford
John Wheeldon Primary Academy ranks 25th of the 35 ranked primary schools in Stafford.
- All Saints Church of England Primary School and Nursery Primary
- All Saints CofE (C) First School Primary
- All Saints CofE Primary School, Bednall Primary
- Anson CofE Primary School Primary
- Barnfields Primary School Primary
- Beaconfields Primary School Primary
- Berkswich CofE (VC) Primary School Primary
- Bishop Lonsdale Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Blessed Mother Teresa's Catholic Primary School Primary
- Burleyfields Primary School Primary
- Burton Manor Primary School Primary
- Castlechurch Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does John Wheeldon Primary Academy teach?
- John Wheeldon Primary Academy teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Stafford.
- Who is the headteacher of John Wheeldon Primary Academy?
- The headteacher of John Wheeldon Primary Academy is Mrs Claire Clarke, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has John Wheeldon Primary Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected John Wheeldon Primary Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at John Wheeldon Primary Academy?
- John Wheeldon Primary Academy has 536 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is John Wheeldon Primary Academy full?
- John Wheeldon Primary Academy has capacity for 515 pupils and 536 on roll (104%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is John Wheeldon Primary Academy a faith school?
- No. John Wheeldon Primary Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does John Wheeldon Primary Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records John Wheeldon Primary Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Is John Wheeldon Primary Academy part of an academy trust?
- John Wheeldon Primary Academy is part of STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have John Wheeldon Primary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 55% in 2022/23 and 69% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does John Wheeldon Primary Academy compare with other schools in Staffordshire?
- John Wheeldon Primary Academy ranked 100th of 229 primary schools in Staffordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is John Wheeldon Primary Academy's absence rate?
- John Wheeldon Primary Academy's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are John Wheeldon Primary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, John Wheeldon Primary Academy's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.