Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School

Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School is performing well overall. Inspectors found that pupils achieve well across the school, including by the end of key stage 2, and that disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND are supported effectively. The school is calm and orderly, pupils behave well and feel safe, and attendance is improving. Leadership is accurate and ambitious, governors provide effective challenge and support, and staff feel proud to work there. Safeguarding arrangements meet the required standard. The school is a Church of England primary with 222 pupils, above-average free school meal eligibility and well-above-average SEN support, and it also runs a 2-year-old provision. The main area needing attention is the early years. Provision for 2- and 3-year-olds is not sufficiently distinct from that for older children, resources are not consistently matched to the youngest learners, and opportunities to practise learning and build independence are uneven. Leaders have begun to address this, but the impact is not yet clear. Variation in the previous early years curriculum also means some children are not fully prepared for Year 1. Across the school, pupils' handwriting and pencil grip vary, which sometimes reduces the efficiency and quality of their writing. Overall, the school provides a broad, ambitious and inclusive education, with strong personal development and enrichment. The next steps are clear: strengthen the early years curriculum and staff training, particularly for the 2-year-old provision, and further embed handwriting strategies.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve well across the school and leave Year 6 well prepared for secondary education.
• Leaders ensure secure foundations in reading, writing and mathematics from an early age.
• Disadvantaged pupils achieve well in national tests, particularly in reading and mathematics.
• Pupils behave well, show positive attitudes to learning, and the school is calm and orderly.
• Attendance is improving because leaders identify barriers and work closely with families.
• The broad, ambitious curriculum is logically sequenced and teachers have secure subject knowledge.
• Pupils with SEND are skilfully supported to access the same curriculum as their peers.
• Inclusive practice ensures vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils are well supported and included.
• Leaders and governors have an accurate view of the school and provide effective challenge and support.
• Staff feel proud to work at the school and leaders take workload and wellbeing seriously.
• Personal development is strong, with pupils learning about wellbeing, safety, relationships and modern Britain.
• Early years staff build nurturing relationships, and children feel safe and manage their emotions well.
• Pupils enjoy enrichment activities and these are funded so all can take part.

Areas for Improvement

• Provision for 2- and 3-year-olds in early years is not distinct enough from that for older children.
• Staff do not consistently provide resources suited to the youngest learners.
• Opportunities for the youngest children to practise learning and develop independence are uneven.
• The early years curriculum varies, leaving some children not fully prepared for Year 1.
• Leaders' recent actions to improve early years are too new to show impact.
• Handwriting and pencil grip vary across the school, sometimes reducing the efficiency and quality of pupils' writing.
• Leaders should strengthen the early years curriculum and provide staff training to deliver it effectively.
• Leaders should further embed strategies to develop pupils' handwriting across the school.

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 Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.9% 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, 1.4% of pupils at Sankey Valley St James Church of England 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 Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School had 17.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.9% 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, 21.0% of pupils at Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.7% 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 Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School received £7,950 and spent £7,765 for each of its 201 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £118,000 (£587 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).

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What is Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School have?

Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School has 214 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School cover?

Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School?

Sankey Valley St James Church of England Primary School is at Dorchester Road, Great Sankey, Warrington, Cheshire, WA5 1XE.