Longton Lane Community Primary School

Longton Lane Community Primary School continues to perform well, maintaining its status as a good school since its last inspection in January 2019. Pupils enjoy a vibrant and nurturing environment, where they are challenged to meet high expectations. The curriculum is well-structured and supports strong outcomes, particularly in early reading, mathematics, and personal development. However, some students face challenges in recalling past learning in a few subjects, which affects their ability to build on prior knowledge effectively. Additionally, there are concerns regarding staff input in decision-making processes impacting their workload and well-being.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy a vibrant and nurturing school environment.
• The school has developed an ambitious and well-structured curriculum.
• Teachers possess strong subject knowledge and deliver clear explanations.
• Reading is a priority, with effective phonics teaching leading to high reading achievement.
• Pupils with SEND are quickly identified and well supported.
• Pupils demonstrate very positive behavior and take responsibility for their learning.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, pupils struggle to remember past learning, affecting knowledge retention.
• Staff feel that their views are not adequately considered in decision-making.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Longton Lane Community Primary School attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.4% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.4% of pupils at Longton Lane Community Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Longton Lane Community Primary School had 20.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.3% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 14.8% of pupils at Longton Lane Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.6% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Longton Lane Community Primary School received £6,250 and spent £6,705 for each of its 284 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £18,000 (£65 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in St Helens · St. Helens local authority: places and applications

What is Longton Lane Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Longton Lane Community Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Longton Lane Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Longton Lane Community Primary School was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Longton Lane Community Primary School have?

Longton Lane Community Primary School has 284 pupils on roll.

What age range does Longton Lane Community Primary School cover?

Longton Lane Community Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Longton Lane Community Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 61% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Longton Lane Community Primary School?

Longton Lane Community Primary School is at Longton Lane, Rainhill, St Helens, Merseyside, L35 8PB.