Rectory CofE Primary School

Rectory CofE Primary School is a small, welcoming Church of England school with a specialist resourced provision for pupils with autism, including a satellite site. It serves a community with high proportions of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with education, health and care plans. Inspectors found the school meets expected standards overall, with safeguarding standards met. Inclusion is a standout strength, and pupils in the resourced provision make strong progress, especially in communication. Leadership, attendance and behaviour, early years, and personal development are all positive. Leaders have improved attendance dramatically, pupils behave well and feel safe, early years provision is caring and inclusive, and personal development offers a wide range of enriching experiences. Staff feel well supported, and governors provide appropriate support and challenge. However, achievement and curriculum and teaching need attention. Some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, do not achieve as well as they should, particularly in mathematics and writing. Teaching is not consistently effective across subjects and year groups, checks on learning are not sharp enough, and gaps in foundational knowledge are not closed quickly. The school has made recent improvements in reading and phonics, but these have not been replicated in mathematics and writing. Leaders understand where teaching needs to improve and have taken appropriate action, but more work is needed to embed highly effective teaching and strengthen foundational writing and mathematics. The next steps focus on sharper assessment, more consistent teaching, and better support in writing and mathematics so all pupils are well prepared for the next stage of education.

Strengths

• Inclusion is a clear strength, with thoughtful support for vulnerable pupils and those with additional needs.
• Disadvantaged pupils benefit from well-targeted pupil premium provision.
• Pupils in the resourced provision receive highly effective, consistent support across two sites.
• Pupils in the resourced provision make strong progress from their starting points, especially in communication.
• Attendance has improved dramatically, with persistent absence significantly reduced.
• Leaders make attendance a priority and work effectively with families and outside agencies.
• Pupils behave well, are calm, respectful and take pride in their work.
• Early years provision is caring, secure and inclusive, with strong speaking, listening and early reading.
• Leadership and governance have a clear shared purpose, high expectations and a strong focus on inclusion.
• Staff feel well supported, and leaders consider workload and wellbeing carefully.
• Personal development is well designed, with rich opportunities and effective pastoral support.
• Pupils feel safe, and bullying or discriminatory behaviour is dealt with quickly and effectively.
• Safeguarding standards are met.
• The curriculum is logically ordered with key knowledge identified.

Areas for Improvement

• Some capable pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, do not attain as well as they could in national curriculum tests.
• Recent improvements in reading and phonics have not been replicated successfully enough in mathematics and writing.
• Gaps in pupils' foundational knowledge are not addressed quickly enough.
• Teaching in some subjects and year groups is not effective enough.
• Teacher checks on learning are not sharp enough to identify and close gaps in knowledge.
• Teachers do not consistently adapt explanations or explain new ideas well.
• Some pupils struggle with writing and are not supported well enough to secure grammar, spelling and punctuation.
• Some pupils are not as well prepared as they could be for the next stage of their education.

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 Rectory CofE Primary School attended 93.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 23.7% 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, 0.8% of pupils at Rectory CofE 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 Rectory CofE Primary School had 7.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.3% 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, 12.3% of pupils at Rectory CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 33.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 38 pupils.

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 Rectory CofE Primary School received £16,426 and spent £17,079 for each of its 130 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £144,000 (-£1,111 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 Wigan · St. Helens local authority: places and applications

What is Rectory CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Rectory CofE Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Rectory CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Rectory CofE Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Rectory CofE Primary School have?

Rectory CofE Primary School has 130 pupils on roll.

What age range does Rectory CofE Primary School cover?

Rectory CofE Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Rectory CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 27% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Rectory CofE Primary School?

Rectory CofE Primary School is at Rectory Road, North Ashton, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, Lancashire, WN4 0QF.