Littleborough Community Primary School

Littleborough Community Primary School is a good school across all areas, maintaining the good judgement from its previous inspection. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and inspectors took the disruption of that period into account. The school sets high expectations for achievement and behaviour while fostering a strong culture of care, with staff knowing pupils and families well and responding quickly to changes in behaviour or wellbeing. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, achieve well in most curriculum areas, and reading is particularly strong, with pupils becoming fluent and expressive readers. The curriculum is broad, balanced and well matched to pupils' needs, deliberately broadening pupils' horizons beyond the local area. Behaviour is good: pupils are polite, calm and engaged, lessons are rarely disrupted, and pupils take pride in leadership roles such as eco club and digital leaders. Personal development is a strength, with trips, visitors and careers workshops helping to prepare pupils for later life, and pupils show respect for diversity. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and staff feel well supported with their wellbeing and workload carefully considered. The school has also relocated to a new building on an adjacent site since the last inspection. Two areas need improvement. In a small number of subjects, the curriculum does not clearly set out the precise knowledge pupils should learn or the order in which content should be taught, so pupils occasionally struggle to remember their learning. In the early years, some activities designed by adults do not consistently deepen children's learning, which sometimes hinders progress. Leaders are asked to sharpen curriculum sequencing in those subjects and to build staff expertise so that early years activities extend children's learning more effectively.

Strengths

• High expectations for pupils' achievement and behaviour combined with a strong culture of care
• Staff know pupils and families well and respond quickly to changes in behaviour or wellbeing
• A clear focus on pupils' mental health and wellbeing
• Pupils, including those with SEND, achieve well in most curriculum areas
• Reading is a strong part of the school's culture, with pupils becoming fluent and expressive readers
• Pupils at risk of falling behind in phonics are identified quickly and supported to catch up
• Effective systems for identifying the needs of pupils with SEND, who learn alongside their peers
• A broad, balanced curriculum that broadens pupils' horizons beyond the locality
• Teachers check understanding well and revisit prior learning to address gaps
• Pupils behave well in lessons and at playtimes, moving calmly around the school
• Pupils are knowledgeable about and respectful of diversity and difference
• A wide range of trips, visitors and careers workshops enrich pupils' experiences
• Pupils take on leadership roles such as eco club litter picks and digital leaders
• Pupils are taught fundamental British values and how to be respectful, responsible citizens
• Staff appreciate the support they receive, with wellbeing and workload carefully considered
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, the curriculum does not clearly define the key knowledge pupils should learn or the order in which it should be taught
• In those subjects, pupils sometimes find it difficult to remember their learning
• In the early years, some activities designed by adults do not help children learn all that they should
• Occasionally, early years activities hinder children's progress rather than deepening their learning

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 Littleborough Community Primary School attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.4% 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, 0.6% of pupils at Littleborough 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 Littleborough Community Primary School had 19.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.2% 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, 13.1% of pupils at Littleborough Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.6% 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 Littleborough Community Primary School received £6,967 and spent £7,083 for each of its 313 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £37,000 (£119 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 Littleborough Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Littleborough Community Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Littleborough Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Littleborough Community Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Littleborough Community Primary School have?

Littleborough Community Primary School has 313 pupils on roll.

What age range does Littleborough Community Primary School cover?

Littleborough Community Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Littleborough Community Primary School?

Littleborough Community Primary School is at Calderbrook Road, Littleborough, Lancashire, OL15 9HW.