Victoria Road Primary School

Victoria Road Primary School is performing well and is rated as 'Good' overall, reflecting a positive educational environment where pupils are eager to learn. The school's strong relationships between staff and students significantly contribute to a nurturing atmosphere that supports academic success. Notably, pupils show enthusiasm in their learning and participate actively in various extracurricular activities that enrich their development. However, the early years provision has been identified as an area needing improvement, where children have not built up their knowledge as effectively as expected, which affects their preparedness for Year 1. This school is part of the Aspire Educational Trust, and it has been through considerable transition in recent years, impacting its performance metrics, particularly in key stage assessments post-pandemic.

Strengths

• Strong relationships between staff and pupils
• High aspirations for academic success
• Pupils actively participate in their learning
• Effective early reading instruction
• Support for pupils with SEND
• Wide range of extracurricular activities
• Positive contribution to local community engagement
• Well-trained staff delivering phonics effectively

Areas for Improvement

• Early years curriculum delivery lacks effectiveness
• Some subjects have not finalized curriculum design
• Assessment strategies in a few subjects do not ensure learning checks
• Staff in early years require further training

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 Victoria Road Primary School attended 94.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.8% 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, 1.5% of pupils at Victoria Road 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 Victoria Road Primary School had 21.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 33.3% 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, 17.6% of pupils at Victoria Road Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.0% 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 2024–25 Victoria Road Primary School received £7,698 and spent £7,367 for each of its 134 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £51,000 (-£383 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of The Aspire Educational Trust, income was £6,867 and spending £6,913 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Northwich · Cheshire West and Chester local authority: places and applications

Victoria Road Primary School is part of The Aspire Educational Trust, which runs 13 schools. The nearest others:

• Holmes Chapel Primary School Crewe
• Peover Superior Endowed Primary School Knutsford
• Sandbach Primary Academy Sandbach
• Underwood West Academy Crewe
• The Wilmslow Academy Wilmslow
• Ivy Bank Primary School Macclesfield
• Parkroyal Community School Macclesfield
• Ash Grove Academy Macclesfield
• Puss Bank School and Nursery Macclesfield
• Hurdsfield Community Primary School and Nursery Macclesfield

What is Victoria Road Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Victoria Road Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Victoria Road Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Victoria Road Primary School was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Victoria Road Primary School have?

Victoria Road Primary School has 125 pupils on roll.

What age range does Victoria Road Primary School cover?

Victoria Road Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 77% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Victoria Road Primary School?

Victoria Road Primary School is at Victoria Road, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 5RE.