Lowton St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School

Lowton St Mary’s CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School is a good school where pupils are happy, safe and well behaved. The school has high ambitions for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and pupils typically achieve in line with or above national averages at the end of key stage 2. Phonics attainment has also been consistently strong, and pupils benefit from a broad curriculum, a love of reading and a wide range of personal development opportunities. The school has improved much of its curriculum and has effective systems for identifying SEND and addressing attendance concerns. Children in the early years get off to a positive start and are well prepared for Year 1. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and leaders are considerate of staff workload. There are still areas to improve. In a small number of subjects and early years curriculum areas, the most important knowledge has not been fully identified, and learning activities are not always well matched to pupils’ needs, which can leave gaps in learning. Governors also need stronger strategic insight so they can support and challenge the school more effectively. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and inspectors took that context into account.

Strengths

• Pupils are safe, happy and well behaved.
• The school has high ambitions for all pupils, including those with SEND.
• Pupils typically achieve in line with or above national averages at the end of key stage 2.
• Phonics screening outcomes have been consistently high over time.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced and has been revised in recent times.
• The school fosters a love of reading and delivers its phonics programme well.
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and often receive appropriate support.
• Children in the early years get off to a positive start and are well prepared for Year 1.
• Attendance systems are robust and help most pupils attend regularly.
• Personal development is well catered for, including healthy relationships and online safety.
• Leaders are considerate of staff workload.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, the school has not identified the important knowledge pupils should learn.
• Some early years curriculum areas still lack clarity about the most crucial knowledge.
• Learning activities are not consistently well designed or adapted to pupils’ needs.
• Some pupils develop gaps in learning in subjects where curriculum thinking is less secure.
• Governors’ strategic insight into school improvement work is not as secure as it could be.
• Governors need the knowledge and expertise to fulfil their statutory duties effectively.

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 Lowton St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.4% 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, 1.6% of pupils at Lowton St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Aided) 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 Lowton St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School had 19.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.1% 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, 15.7% of pupils at Lowton St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.8% 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 Lowton St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School received £7,037 and spent £7,204 for each of its 222 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £212,000 (£955 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

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What is Lowton St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lowton St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School is Good, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was Lowton St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Lowton St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does Lowton St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School have?

Lowton St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School has 229 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lowton St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School cover?

Lowton St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Lowton St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 71% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Lowton St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School?

Lowton St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School is at Newton Road, Lowton, Lowton St Mary's Ce Primary School, Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 1EW.