St Edward's Church of England Primary School

St Edward’s is a happy and caring primary school where pupils feel safe, behave well and benefit from positive relationships with staff. Early years provision is strong, children engage enthusiastically and are well prepared for Year 1, and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified quickly and generally included well. Safeguarding is effective, attendance is mostly good and governors provide appropriate challenge and support. However, the school’s ambition is not fully realised. The curriculum has been revised and is coherently sequenced, but teaching does not deliver it consistently well, and assessment information is not used sharply enough to identify and close gaps. Pupils at the early stages of reading, especially in key stage 1, do not get the support they need, and some pupils with SEND underachieve in reading and writing. Personal development is also underdeveloped: pupils are not well prepared for life in modern Britain, with gaps in knowledge about healthy eating, other faiths and people different from themselves. Leaders have acted since the pandemic, but their analysis of impact is inconsistent and sometimes lacks urgency, which slows improvement. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the pandemic; the headteacher has been in post since September 2022. The school needs to strengthen curriculum delivery, assessment, early reading and personal development.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, feel valued and have positive relationships with staff.
• Pupils behave well, are polite and kind, and work hard in lessons.
• Early years provision is happy, safe and effective, with high-quality adult interactions.
• Children in early years engage enthusiastically in well-considered activities and are well prepared for Year 1.
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported well by skilled staff working with families and professionals.
• Most pupils with SEND are fully included in school life, including clubs and choir.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Attendance is mostly good, and the school supports pupils who struggle to attend.
• Governors provide appropriate challenge and support and are committed to building capacity.
• The school pays due regard to staff well-being and workload when making changes.
• Pupils take pride in leadership roles such as mental health leaders and eco committee members.
• Pupils can access a range of clubs that develop talents and interests.
• The curriculum has recently been improved so that it is coherently sequenced and ambitious.
• Pupils understand tolerance and respect, and learn how to keep themselves safe, including online.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum delivery is inconsistent across subjects and does not always match the intended curriculum.
• Staff are not fully equipped to deliver the revised curriculum consistently well.
• Assessment information is not used effectively to identify and address gaps or misconceptions.
• Pupils at the early stages of reading, especially in key stage 1, do not receive the support they need to build phonics knowledge.
• Older pupils do not learn to read as well as they should or enjoy reading for information and pleasure.
• Some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could, especially in reading and writing.
• Personal development does not prepare pupils well enough for life in modern Britain.
• Pupils have gaps in knowledge about healthy eating, other faiths and people different from themselves.
• Leaders' analysis of the impact of improvement work is inconsistent and sometimes lacks urgency.
• Some pupils move on to new concepts before they are ready.

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 Edward's Church of England Primary School attended 94.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.4% 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 St Edward's Church of England 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 St Edward's Church of England Primary School had 18.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.6% 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, 14.9% of pupils at St Edward's Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.2% 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 Edward's Church of England Primary School received £7,330 and spent £7,742 for each of its 316 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £135,000 (£427 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 St Edward's Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Edward's Church of England Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was St Edward's Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Edward's Church of England Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does St Edward's Church of England Primary School have?

St Edward's Church of England Primary School has 316 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Edward's Church of England Primary School cover?

St Edward's Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Edward's Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 54% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Edward's Church of England Primary School?

St Edward's Church of England Primary School is at Hanover Street, Castleton, St. Edward's Church of England Primary School, Rochdale, Lancashire, OL11 3AR.