Shawclough Community Primary School

Shawclough Community Primary School continues to demonstrate a strong performance as a good school. Pupils enjoy attending due to the warm atmosphere created by positive relationships with staff and their peers. The curriculum is well-structured, emphasizing high expectations for behavior and academic achievement, fostering independence and resilience in students. Although the school shows strengths in many areas, certain subjects lack clearly defined learning foundations which can hinder teaching effectiveness and student learning outcomes. Overall, the school has a nurturing environment and focuses on the well-being and development of all pupils, including those with special educational needs.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy and feel safe at school.
• Strong relationships exist between pupils and staff.
• Leaders have high expectations for behavior and achievement.
• The curriculum is broad, balanced, and ambitious.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND, ensuring good achievement.
• Teachers demonstrate strong subject knowledge.
• The school prioritizes reading and has effective phonics teaching.
• A range of extra-curricular activities is offered to pupils.

Areas for Improvement

• Some subjects lack clearly identified foundational knowledge, affecting teaching and learning.
• A small number of staff inadequately model sounds in early reading instruction.

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 Shawclough Community Primary School attended 93.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.1% 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, 0.2% of pupils at Shawclough 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 Shawclough Community Primary School had 19.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 28.3% 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, 13.6% of pupils at Shawclough Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 10.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has a SEN unit with 9 pupils and resourced provision with 22 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 Shawclough Community Primary School received £8,160 and spent £7,670 for each of its 417 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £157,000 (£377 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 Rochdale · Rochdale local authority: places and applications

What is Shawclough Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Shawclough Community Primary School is Good, from an inspection in May 2023.

When was Shawclough Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Shawclough Community Primary School was last inspected in May 2023.

How many pupils does Shawclough Community Primary School have?

Shawclough Community Primary School has 428 pupils on roll.

What age range does Shawclough Community Primary School cover?

Shawclough Community Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Shawclough Community Primary School?

Shawclough Community Primary School is at Thrum Hall Lane, Rochdale, Lancashire, OL12 6DE.