St Peter's CofE Primary School

St Peter's CofE Primary School is a smaller-than-average Church of England primary in Ashton-under-Lyne serving a highly disadvantaged community. Most pupils are eligible for free school meals, many speak English as an additional language, and the proportion of pupils with an EHC plan is well above average. Inspectors found safeguarding standards met and judged achievement, attendance and behaviour, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing to be strong. Curriculum and teaching, early years, and inclusion are at the expected standard. Pupils achieve well overall, with mathematics a particular strength and disadvantaged pupils often performing above national averages in reading and mathematics. Attendance is a high priority, persistent absence is below national levels, and behaviour is calm and respectful. The school has a strong inclusive ethos, effective pastoral support, rich wider experiences, and well-developed staff training and governance. The main areas for development are explicit in the report's next steps. Provision for pupils with the most complex needs is not yet consistently tailored to enable them to benefit fully from the curriculum and wider opportunities. In addition, the most-able pupils do not always receive work that enables them to achieve as highly as they could, and pupils need more opportunities to apply, extend and deepen their learning across some subjects, including writing. Leaders recognise these priorities and are taking action to address them.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve well and are prepared for the next stage of their education.
• Mathematics is a particular strength, with results above the national average over time.
• Disadvantaged pupils achieve at least as well as, and often above, other pupils nationally in reading and mathematics.
• Attendance is a high priority and has improved, with persistent absence below the national average.
• Behaviour reflects high expectations, and pupils are respectful, self-disciplined and rarely need reminders.
• Bullying is rare, and staff resolve concerns quickly and effectively.
• Leaders and governors have a clear understanding of the school's context and priorities.
• Staff professional development is a strength and is closely aligned to school priorities.
• The personal development programme is well considered and promotes safety, relationships, wellbeing and British values.
• Pupils benefit from a rich range of trips, residentials and leadership roles, with barriers removed for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• The school is inclusive, and pupils feel that they belong.
• Reading and mathematics are given high priority, with clear teaching and effective support for pupils who fall behind.
• Early years provides a safe, welcoming start, with a strong emphasis on communication, language and systematic phonics.
• Parents speak positively about the school, and staff feel valued and supported.

Areas for Improvement

• Provision for pupils with the most complex needs is not consistently tailored to enable them to benefit fully from the curriculum and wider opportunities.
• Most-able pupils do not always receive work that enables them to achieve as highly as they could.
• Pupils need more opportunities to apply, extend and deepen their learning across some subjects, including writing.
• Early years planned vocabulary introduction and revisiting requires further refinement so that learning builds consistently on what children already know and can do.

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 Peter's CofE Primary School attended 95.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.2% 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, 0.0% of pupils at St Peter's CofE 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 Peter's CofE Primary School had 12.9 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, 11.0% of pupils at St Peter's CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 9.6% 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 St Peter's CofE Primary School received £9,027 and spent £8,799 for each of its 209 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £234,000 (£1,121 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 Ashton-Under-Lyne · Tameside local authority: places and applications

What is St Peter's CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Peter's CofE Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

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

St Peter's CofE Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

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

St Peter's CofE Primary School has 209 pupils on roll.

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

St Peter's CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Peter's CofE Primary School?

St Peter's CofE Primary School is at Oxford Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, OL7 0NB.