Watermill School
Turnhurst Road, Chell, Stoke-on-Trent, ST6 6JZ
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special converter
- Ages
- 2 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ORCHARD COMMUNITY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Jennifer Lomas
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- VI - Visual Impairment, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Stoke-on-Trent North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 140
- Pupils on roll
- 254
- URN
- 146503
- Local authority
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Telephone
- 01782883737
About this school
Watermill School is a special academy in Stoke-on-Trent. It teaches children aged 2 to 16 and has 254 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Watermill School, 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 15 November 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 34 | 22 | 24 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
| Reading progress | -7.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -6.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -6.50 | - | - |
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.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 21 | 21 | 15 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Watermill School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Stoke-on-Trent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% | 54.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 56.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 57.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 13.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 13.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 234 |
| 2023/24 | 238 |
| 2024/25 | 240 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 51.67%
- English as an additional language
- 0.8%
- Overall absence
- 11.41%
- Persistent absence
- 40.87%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Oaks1.0 miles
Special schools · Stoke-on-Trent
-
The Nest1.3 miles
Special schools · Stoke-on-Trent
-
The Valiant School1.7 miles
Independent schools · Stoke-on-Trent
-
Alpha Learning Staffordshire1.9 miles
Special schools · Stoke-on-Trent
-
North Road Academy2.2 miles
Special schools · Stoke-on-trent
Other schools in Stoke-on-Trent
- Abbey Hill Academy & College Academies
- Alpha Learning Staffordshire Special schools
- Church Lawton School Free Schools
- Cicely Haughton School Academies
- Draycott Moor College Special schools
- Edison Pace School Special schools
- Emerge School Special schools
- Intuition Holistic Education Special schools
- Kemball School Academies
- Manor Abbey School Free Schools
- Merit Hospital School and Medical Pupil Referral Unit Local authority maintained schools
- Newfriars College Other types
Common questions
- What ages does Watermill School teach?
- Watermill School teaches children aged 2 to 16. It is a special school in Stoke-on-Trent.
- Who is the headteacher of Watermill School?
- The headteacher of Watermill School is Mrs Jennifer Lomas, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Watermill School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Watermill School, 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 Watermill School?
- Watermill School has 254 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 16.
- Is Watermill School full?
- Watermill School has capacity for 140 pupils and 254 on roll (181%), 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 Watermill School a faith school?
- No. Watermill School has no designated religious character.
- Is Watermill School part of an academy trust?
- Watermill School is part of ORCHARD COMMUNITY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Watermill School have?
- The schools register lists Watermill School's special educational needs provision as: VI - Visual Impairment; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Watermill School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Watermill School's absence rate?
- Watermill School's overall absence rate is 11.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Watermill School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Watermill School'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 7 July 2026.