Holmeswood Methodist School

Holmeswood Methodist School is a very small primary school with a warm, family-like ethos. Inspectors found much to praise: pupils are happy, attend well and behave well; they benefit from a rich personal development programme, strong early years provision, and effective inclusion for pupils with SEND. Leadership and governance are also effective, and safeguarding standards are met. Many pupils join the school part-way through their primary education and settle quickly into its caring culture. The main concern is writing. Pupils have gaps in basic transcriptional knowledge, including handwriting, and these gaps are not identified or tackled precisely enough, particularly for pupils who join later. As a result, achievement and curriculum and teaching in writing are weaker than in reading and mathematics. In a small number of other subjects, pupils’ knowledge is also less secure than it should be, though leaders have identified this and are taking action. Recent improvements to writing have not yet had time to make a difference. Overall, the school is performing well in most areas, with personal development a notable strength. The clear priority is to strengthen the teaching of writing so that all pupils, especially late joiners, close their basic knowledge gaps swiftly and achieve as well as they do in other subjects.

Strengths

• Strong personal development and wellbeing provision, including deep PSHE and British values understanding.
• Rich wider curriculum with performances, choir, 3D printing, sports and residential visits.
• Pupils are happy, attend well and behave consistently well; bullying is extremely rare.
• Effective early years provision that builds children’s confidence in letters, reading and numbers.
• Inclusion is effective; pupils with SEND are well supported and access the same learning as peers.
• Leadership and governance are strong; governors know the school well and staff feel well supported.
• Reading and mathematics achievement is stronger than published results suggest, with pupils making secure progress.
• Warm, caring culture helps new pupils settle quickly and feel they belong.
• Safeguarding standards are met.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils’ writing achievement is weaker than in other subjects due to gaps in basic transcriptional knowledge.
• Gaps in pupils’ writing knowledge are not checked or addressed carefully enough, especially for late joiners.
• Handwriting varies considerably across the school.
• In a small number of subjects, pupils’ knowledge is not as secure as it could be.
• Recent actions to improve writing have not yet had time to impact on pupils’ work.
• Achievement and curriculum and teaching in writing are areas needing attention.

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 Holmeswood Methodist School attended 96.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.5% 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 Holmeswood Methodist 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 Holmeswood Methodist School had 14.3 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, 14.5% of pupils at Holmeswood Methodist School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 12.7% 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 Holmeswood Methodist School received £11,365 and spent £10,890 for each of its 55 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £25,000 (£455 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 Ormskirk · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Holmeswood Methodist School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Holmeswood Methodist School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Holmeswood Methodist School last inspected by Ofsted?

Holmeswood Methodist School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Holmeswood Methodist School have?

Holmeswood Methodist School has 55 pupils on roll.

What age range does Holmeswood Methodist School cover?

Holmeswood Methodist School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Holmeswood Methodist School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 29% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Holmeswood Methodist School?

Holmeswood Methodist School is at Chapel Lane, Holmeswood, Nr Rufford, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L40 1UD.