Rainow Primary School

Rainow Primary School is a highly effective village primary where pupils achieve remarkably well and every key judgement is outstanding. Inspectors found extremely high expectations, an ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum, strong support for pupils with SEND, and excellent early reading provision. Pupils develop deep, interconnected knowledge and are confident, fluent readers by the end of Year 2. Pupils display exemplary attitudes to learning, high attendance and strong personal development. The school provides extensive enrichment, residential trips, leadership roles and community involvement, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. Leadership and governance are strong, with staff feeling well supported and workload carefully considered. This was a graded inspection of a community primary school for 189 pupils aged 4 to 11, with an on-site breakfast and after-school club; inspectors identified no areas for improvement.

Strengths

• Extremely high expectations and an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum across all subjects
• Exceptional pupil achievement, including for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities
• Strong phonics and early reading support, with most pupils fluent readers by the end of Year 2
• Skilled staff who identify misconceptions and use assessment to close gaps in knowledge
• Pupils display exemplary attitudes, independence, resilience and high attendance
• Comprehensive personal development through enrichment, trips, leadership roles and community involvement
• Effective safeguarding arrangements and a positive culture of safety
• Strong governance and leadership that support staff well-being and manage workload
• Early years provision that builds a seamless foundation for learning
• High-quality ongoing curriculum training for experienced staff

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 Rainow Primary School attended 96.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.7% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Rainow 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 Rainow Primary School had 22.5 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, 4.6% of pupils at Rainow Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.6% 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 Rainow Primary School received £6,538 and spent £6,587 for each of its 194 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £138,000 (-£709 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 Macclesfield · Cheshire East local authority: places and applications

What is Rainow Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Rainow Primary School is Outstanding, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Rainow Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Rainow Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Rainow Primary School have?

Rainow Primary School has 194 pupils on roll.

What age range does Rainow Primary School cover?

Rainow Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Rainow Primary School?

Rainow Primary School is at Round Meadow, Rainow, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 5UB.