Downholland-Haskayne Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School

Downholland-Haskayne is a very small rural Church of England primary school that gives pupils a safe, happy and welcoming place to learn. The school has been through a long period of management and staffing change and a falling roll, and some weaknesses developed as a result. Since January 2025 the new headteacher and staff have made much-needed improvements, and parents are overwhelmingly positive about the changes. Behaviour and personal development are strong, reading and phonics are taught well, pupils with SEND are identified and supported carefully, and safeguarding is effective. However, the quality of education and leadership and management still require improvement, and early years provision also requires improvement. Some parts of the curriculum do not set out clearly what pupils should learn, so pupils do not always build secure knowledge or get the preparation they need for the next stage. Leadership is stronger in some areas than others, and governors do not yet have a firm enough grasp of the school’s curriculum strengths and priorities to challenge and support it effectively. The report notes that the school has a strong sense of direction and is making decisions in the right way and at the right time. The main priorities are to make all curriculums equally well thought out, strengthen leadership across every aspect of the school’s work, and ensure governors are well informed enough to fulfil their statutory responsibilities and support continued improvement.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe, happy and that they belong at the school
• Pupils treat others with thought and consideration
• Behaviour and attitudes are good, with clear expectations
• Personal development is broad and helps pupils become respectful, responsible citizens
• Phonics is taught accurately and reading books match pupils’ known letter sounds
• Weaker readers receive skilful support to read fluently and accurately
• Pupils enjoy stories and develop important reading skills
• Pupils with SEND are identified, understood and well supported
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Attendance is checked and acted on, and most pupils attend regularly
• Staff receive helpful support and training, and their well-being is considered
• Communication with parents is very good, and parents are positive about recent improvements
• The school uses its rural location successfully in the curriculum
• Recent refinements since January 2025 show a strong sense of direction

Areas for Improvement

• Some curriculum subjects do not clearly identify the essential knowledge staff should teach
• Some pupils do not develop secure curriculum knowledge and are not well prepared for the next stage
• Early years provision does not prepare some children well enough
• Leadership of some aspects of the school’s work is less well developed
• Governors have a patchy grasp of curriculum strengths and priorities and do not hold the school to account effectively
• Some weaknesses developed during a prolonged period of management and staffing change and a reduction in pupil numbers
• Staff are not consistently supported to improve their teaching across all areas
• Pupils’ learning is held back in aspects where leadership is less developed

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 2023–24 pupils at Downholland-Haskayne Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School attended 86.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.5%). 35.5% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 14.6%).

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 2023–24, 0.0% of pupils at Downholland-Haskayne Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.0%). 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 2023–24 Downholland-Haskayne Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School had 8.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.8). Of its teachers in 2023–24, 50.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 17.1%).

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, 35.0% of pupils at Downholland-Haskayne Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 25.0% 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 2023–24 Downholland-Haskayne Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School received £13,756 and spent £14,655 for each of its 36 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £13,000 (£366 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 Downholland-Haskayne Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Downholland-Haskayne Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Downholland-Haskayne Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Downholland-Haskayne Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Downholland-Haskayne Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School have?

Downholland-Haskayne Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School has 20 pupils on roll.

What age range does Downholland-Haskayne Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School cover?

Downholland-Haskayne Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

Where is Downholland-Haskayne Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School?

Downholland-Haskayne Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School is at Black-A-Moor Lane, Haskayne, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L39 7HX.