St Aidan's CofE Primary School Billinge

St Aidan's CofE Primary School Billinge is a small Church of England primary school with a higher-than-average proportion of pupils with SEN support and education, health and care plans. Safeguarding standards are met, and most areas of provision are working at the expected standard: attendance and behaviour, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Leaders have improved attendance, pupils behave well, and early reading, early mathematics, support for SEND and disadvantaged pupils, and personal development are particular strengths. National outcomes by the end of Year 6 are above average in reading, writing and mathematics, including for disadvantaged pupils. However, inspectors identified weaknesses in achievement and in curriculum and teaching, mainly around basic literacy skills. Pupils do not develop secure handwriting and spelling, some writing is difficult to read or untidy, learned spellings are not consistently transferred into writing, and teachers do not routinely ensure errors are corrected. Leaders have begun to act but have not prioritised these basic skills enough, and their curriculum checks have not yet secured consistently good teaching of handwriting and spelling. As a result, pupils' readiness for the next stage of education is variable. Attendance is improving but overall absence remains above the national average, and some pupils still face barriers to attending regularly. Overall, this is a school with many strengths and effective leadership, but it needs to sharpen basic skills teaching and targeted attendance support so that all pupils leave with secure literacy foundations.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture and concerns actively managed.
• Leaders have improved attendance, and absence and persistent absence are declining over time.
• Pupils typically behave well, disruption and suspensions are rare, and bullying is dealt with swiftly.
• Early years provision is strong, with effective phonics, early mathematics, routines and parental engagement.
• Inclusion is effective; pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are well supported and access learning alongside peers.
• Leadership and governance are effective, with accurate self-evaluation, good staff support and strong governor scrutiny.
• Personal development and wellbeing are well provided for, including mental health, online safety, enrichment and pupil leadership.
• Pupils attain above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6, including disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils with SEND progress well in many aspects of their learning.
• Parents are extremely positive, and church community links enhance pupils' opportunities.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not develop secure handwriting and spelling, and some writing is difficult to read or untidy.
• Pupils do not consistently transfer learned spellings into their writing.
• Teachers do not routinely ensure pupils correct spelling errors in their work.
• Curriculum and teaching of basic skills are not effective enough, and leaders' checks have not resolved this.
• Leaders have not prioritised handwriting and spelling sufficiently, leaving readiness for the next stage variable.
• Overall absence remains above the national average, and some pupils still face barriers to regular attendance.

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 St Aidan's CofE Primary School Billinge attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.8% 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, 0.6% of pupils at St Aidan's CofE Primary School Billinge 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 St Aidan's CofE Primary School Billinge had 17.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 26.1% of pupils at St Aidan's CofE Primary School Billinge were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 9.7% 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 St Aidan's CofE Primary School Billinge received £8,854 and spent £9,211 for each of its 165 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £37,000 (-£223 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

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What is St Aidan's CofE Primary School Billinge's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Aidan's CofE Primary School Billinge is Needs attention, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was St Aidan's CofE Primary School Billinge last inspected by Ofsted?

St Aidan's CofE Primary School Billinge was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does St Aidan's CofE Primary School Billinge have?

St Aidan's CofE Primary School Billinge has 165 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Aidan's CofE Primary School Billinge cover?

St Aidan's CofE Primary School Billinge for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are St Aidan's CofE Primary School Billinge's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 82% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Aidan's CofE Primary School Billinge?

St Aidan's CofE Primary School Billinge is at Off London Fields, Billinge, Wigan, Lancashire, WN5 7LS.