Water Primary School

Water Primary School has demonstrated good overall effectiveness, reflecting its commitment to providing a quality education for its students. Pupils are part of a supportive and close-knit community, where they feel safe, appreciated, and encouraged to perform at their best. The school has successfully developed a broad and knowledge-rich curriculum since its previous inspection, ensuring that most pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), achieve well. The leadership team has implemented effective strategies for continuous improvement.

Strengths

• Pupils are proud to be part of the school community and feel safe.
• The curriculum is broad and knowledge-rich, allowing most pupils to achieve well.
• Leaders effectively support pupils with SEND, enabling their full participation in the curriculum.
• Reading is prioritized across the school, with effective measures in place to support literacy development.
• Pupils demonstrate positive behavior and attitudes towards learning.
• There is a strong culture of safeguarding within the school.

Areas for Improvement

• Teachers occasionally do not select the most appropriate activities to help pupils acquire new knowledge.
• Some teachers are not quick enough to identify and address pupils’ errors and misunderstandings.

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 Water Primary School attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.6% 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, 1.7% of pupils at Water 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 Water Primary School had 17.4 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, 19.0% of pupils at Water Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.8% 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 Water Primary School received £8,723 and spent £8,905 for each of its 116 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £86,000 (£740 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 Rossendale · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Water Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Water Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Water Primary School was last inspected in September 2023.

How many pupils does Water Primary School have?

Water Primary School has 116 pupils on roll.

What age range does Water Primary School cover?

Water Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 36% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Water Primary School?

Water Primary School is at Burnley Road East, Water, Rossendale, Lancashire, BB4 9PX.