Little Digmoor Primary School

Little Digmoor Primary is a caring community school where pupils are happy, respectful and well behaved. Behaviour and personal development are strong, pupils value the clubs and leadership roles on offer, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school has redesigned an ambitious curriculum and made reading central, with high-quality texts and targeted phonics support, while leaders have been mindful of staff workload during change. However, pupils' achievement has been low for some time and they are not well prepared for their next stage of education, especially in writing. The new curriculum is not yet embedded across subjects, teachers do not consistently check and address gaps in prior knowledge, and early years provision is not well aligned with key stages 1 and 2. Some pupils with SEND are not identified or supported consistently, attendance and punctuality remain issues for some, and leadership has not evaluated improvements rigorously enough. This was the school's first routine inspection since the pandemic, with a new headteacher and other leadership changes since the previous inspection.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy and value opportunities to play and socialise together.
• Pupils are respectful, patient and kind, including towards those who need more help.
• Behaviour and attitudes are good, supported by calm and consistent staff approaches.
• Children in the early years settle quickly into well-established routines.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of clubs and outdoor adventure opportunities.
• Older pupils take pride in leadership roles as ambassadors and school councillors.
• The school has designed an ambitious curriculum matched to pupils' needs and interests.
• Reading is central to the curriculum, with high-quality texts and reading for pleasure.
• Phonics support is well matched, with additional help for pupils who have gaps.
• Personal development is strong and prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Leaders have considered staff workload during curriculum change.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' achievement has been low for some time across the school.
• Writing is a particular weakness and poor written work limits achievement across the curriculum.
• The school has not identified deeply enough why pupils continue to underachieve.
• Curriculum improvements are not checked rigorously enough.
• New curriculums, including reading, are still being embedded and not yet delivering expected outcomes.
• Teachers do not consistently check and address gaps in pupils' knowledge.
• The early years curriculum is not well aligned with key stages 1 and 2.
• Early years children struggle to form clear, legible letters, affecting phonics and writing progression.
• SEND identification and staff training are inconsistent, so some pupils do not get the right support.
• Some pupils become disillusioned and distracted when learning is too hard.
• Attendance and punctuality remain problematic for some pupils.
• Governors need more support to evaluate curriculum effectiveness and focus on emerging weaknesses.

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 Little Digmoor Primary School attended 89.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 32.3% 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, 3.9% of pupils at Little Digmoor 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 Little Digmoor Primary School had 23.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 30.2% 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, 21.7% of pupils at Little Digmoor Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.9% 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 Little Digmoor Primary School received £9,071 and spent £8,665 for each of its 138 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £89,000 (£642 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 Skelmersdale · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Little Digmoor Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Little Digmoor Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Little Digmoor Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Little Digmoor Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Little Digmoor Primary School have?

Little Digmoor Primary School has 138 pupils on roll.

What age range does Little Digmoor Primary School cover?

Little Digmoor Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 32% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Little Digmoor Primary School?

Little Digmoor Primary School is at Abbeystead, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 9NF.