Darnhall Primary School

Darnhall Primary School is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating across most domains except for early years provision, which requires improvement. The school is well-regarded within its community, with pupils expressing pride in their school and feeling safe and happy. They engage actively in their education, supported by high expectations from staff. While pupils in key stages 1 and 2 progress well, especially in reading, there are concerns regarding the preparedness of early years children and some inconsistencies in the curriculum delivery that could hinder the depth of knowledge acquired by students. The COVID-19 pandemic and pupil mobility have affected performance data but the overall atmosphere remains positive and conducive to learning.

Strengths

• Pupils are proud to attend and feel safe and happy at school.
• High expectations are set for all pupils, including those with SEND.
• Pupils in key stages 1 and 2 achieve well across the curriculum.
• The school effectively prioritizes the teaching of reading.
• There is a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities for pupils.
• Staff well-being is prioritized and they feel valued.
• Parents and carers speak highly of the school.

Areas for Improvement

• Early years provision lacks consistency in staff expertise and curriculum delivery.
• Some areas of the curriculum are less well developed and not fully clear for teachers.
• Pupils have insufficient opportunities to embed and recall previous learning in some subjects.

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 Darnhall Primary School attended 93.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.8% 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, 2.2% of pupils at Darnhall 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 Darnhall Primary School had 17.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.3% 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, 12.7% of pupils at Darnhall Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 13 pupils.

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 Darnhall Primary School received £8,699 and spent £8,259 for each of its 421 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £314,000 (£747 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 Winsford · Cheshire West and Chester local authority: places and applications

What is Darnhall Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Darnhall Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was Darnhall Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Darnhall Primary School was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does Darnhall Primary School have?

Darnhall Primary School has 440 pupils on roll.

What age range does Darnhall Primary School cover?

Darnhall Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 49% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Darnhall Primary School?

Darnhall Primary School is at Sandyhill Road, Darnhall, Winsford, Cheshire, CW7 1JL.