Tushingham With Grindley CofE Primary School

Tushingham With Grindley CofE Primary School is a warm, caring school where pupils feel happy and safe and behave exceptionally well. Inspectors found outstanding behaviour and attitudes, personal development and early years provision, alongside good quality of education and leadership and management. The school did not receive an overall effectiveness grade under the current inspection framework; it was previously judged outstanding and had not been inspected under section 5 since 2017. It is a voluntary-controlled Church of England school in the Diocese of Chester with 111 pupils on roll. Strengths include a rich, engaging curriculum tailored to pupils and the local context, strong early reading and phonics, swift identification of SEND with effective extra support, and exceptional personal development. Pupils take on leadership roles and contribute to projects beyond the school community. Early years children are exceptionally well prepared for Year 1, and staff are positive about the support, training and workload measures provided. Leaders need to address a few curriculum weaknesses. In a small number of subjects, staff do not consistently focus on the most important knowledge, so some pupils do not remember essential content over time. Assessment in some wider curriculum subjects is still developing, meaning leaders do not always have a secure understanding of what pupils know and remember. Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Strengths

• Warm and nurturing relationships between staff and pupils
• High expectations for behaviour embodied by 'The Tushingham way'
• Pupils show deep respect for one another and celebrate each other's successes
• Pupils have high aspirations and consistently positive attitudes to learning
• Rich, engaging curriculum relevant to pupils and the local context
• Strong early reading and phonics provision with well-matched reading books
• Swift identification of SEND and effective extra support to close gaps
• Exceptional personal development provision woven through school life
• Pupils take on meaningful leadership roles and contribute to charity and community projects
• Purposeful classrooms with clear routines and strong early years engagement
• Early years children are exceptionally well prepared for Year 1
• Governors provide effective challenge and support to leaders
• Staff are positive about support, training and workload reduction
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, staff do not focus on the most important knowledge pupils need
• Some pupils do not remember essential knowledge over time in a few subjects
• Assessment approaches in some wider curriculum subjects are underdeveloped
• Checks in some subjects do not effectively show how well pupils remember key knowledge
• Teachers need expertise to make appropriate pedagogical choices so pupils build knowledge for future learning
• Some pupils do not build sufficient depth of knowledge in a few 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 Tushingham With Grindley CofE Primary School attended 96.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.9% 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 Tushingham With Grindley 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 Tushingham With Grindley CofE Primary School had 20.5 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, 11.5% of pupils at Tushingham With Grindley CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.7% 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 Tushingham With Grindley CofE Primary School received £7,505 and spent £7,499 for each of its 109 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £51,000 (£474 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 Whitchurch · Cheshire West and Chester local authority: places and applications

What is Tushingham With Grindley CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Tushingham With Grindley CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Tushingham With Grindley CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Tushingham With Grindley CofE Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Tushingham With Grindley CofE Primary School have?

Tushingham With Grindley CofE Primary School has 113 pupils on roll.

What age range does Tushingham With Grindley CofE Primary School cover?

Tushingham With Grindley CofE Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Tushingham With Grindley CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 73% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Tushingham With Grindley CofE Primary School?

Tushingham With Grindley CofE Primary School is at Tushingham, Tushingham With Grindley Ce Primary School, Whitchurch, Cheshire, SY13 4QS.