Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School

Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School is a small primary in a highly deprived area, with a well above-average proportion of disadvantaged pupils and above-average special educational needs support. Following recent leadership restructuring, the school is now providing the expected standard of education overall. Safeguarding standards are met, and leaders have a secure understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths

• Leaders have restructured and strengthened leadership, giving secure oversight of provision and an accurate understanding of strengths and weaknesses.
• Inclusion is a clear strength, with tailored and highly effective support in 'The Hub' for speech, language, social and emotional needs.
• The school uses pupil premium funding effectively to support disadvantaged pupils' attendance, readiness and achievement.
• Attendance is close to national averages and rising, with careful tracking, rewards and well-matched support for absence.
• Positive behaviour is promoted well through the 'UNITE' rules, and staff respond effectively to bullying or poor behaviour.
• Early years provision is calm, purposeful and well organised, helping children learn and develop well from their starting points.
• Personal development is well planned, covering citizenship, safety, relationships, British values and mental and physical health.
• Staff feel well supported by leaders and governors, and governors provide a healthy balance of support and challenge.
• Pupils feel safe, cared for and respected, and they enjoy positive relationships with staff.
• Leaders and staff communicate well with parents and carers, who value the 'What more can we do?' ethos.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils make uneven gains in knowledge across the curriculum.
• Pupils' handwriting, grammar, punctuation and spelling develop too slowly, affecting writing quality.
• Pupils' grasp of mathematical facts and calculation methods is variable.
• Published attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is below national averages over recent years.
• Disadvantaged pupils consistently attain below the national average for other disadvantaged pupils, especially in mathematics.
• In a small number of subjects, curriculum content is not carefully set out, so learning does not build well on prior experiences.
• Assessment information is not used consistently across classes to match activities to pupils' needs.
• Some pupils with SEND do not consistently receive precise support to overcome barriers to learning.
• Some pupils are asked to complete activities without the prior knowledge or resilience needed to succeed.
• Pupils' enjoyment of learning and lesson experiences in Years 1 to 6 are inconsistent, hampering progress for some.
• Persistent absence is above the national average.

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 Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.7% 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, 4.1% of pupils at Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 2 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 Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School had 20.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 25.0% 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, 20.3% of pupils at Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.9% 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 Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School received £8,794 and spent £9,170 for each of its 188 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £26,000 (£136 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
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All schools in Ashton-Under-Lyne · Tameside local authority: places and applications

What is Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School have?

Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School has 187 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School cover?

Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 47% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School?

Hurst Knoll St James' Church of England Primary School is at Ladbrooke Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, OL6 8JS.