Great Sankey Primary School

Great Sankey Primary School is performing very strongly across all inspected areas. The report judges achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and well-being as strong standard, with safeguarding standards met. Pupils achieve well, often above national outcomes, and disadvantaged pupils also do well. Attendance is high, behaviour is consistently positive, and pupils feel safe and cared for. The school is described as highly inclusive and ambitious, with particularly effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, disadvantaged pupils, and pupils known to social care. Early years provision gives children a strong start, reading and foundational skills are a clear focus, and leaders have high expectations and well-established systems for improvement. The school is part of the Challenge Academy Trust and has had a new headteacher since the previous inspection. There are no graded weaknesses or areas judged as needing attention. The only next step is for leaders and governors to sustain the effectiveness of their work and continue seeking improvement so that all pupils, including those facing barriers, continue to benefit.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve very well in national tests and across the wider curriculum
• Leaders use detailed analysis and bespoke adaptations to help pupils catch up quickly
• The school is relentless in removing barriers to learning for disadvantaged pupils, pupils with SEND and pupils known to social care
• Attendance is high, with innovative and collaborative approaches to improving it further
• Behaviour is consistently positive, calm and respectful, with clear routines understood by pupils and staff
• The curriculum is high quality, consistently taught and regularly reviewed by leaders
• Phonics teaching is strong and pupils learn to read fluently
• Early years provision is ambitious, nurturing and tailored to children’s needs
• Inclusion is a notable strength, with purposeful support and effective use of pupil premium funding
• Leadership and governance are strong, with high expectations, rigorous evaluation and rapid improvement
• Personal development is well considered, including citizenship, British values, safety and pastoral support
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of enrichment opportunities and leadership roles
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture of safeguarding

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 Great Sankey Primary School attended 96.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.9% 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, 0.3% of pupils at Great Sankey 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 Great Sankey Primary School had 22.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.4% 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, 6.3% of pupils at Great Sankey Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.1% 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 Great Sankey Primary School received £6,243 and spent £6,529 for each of its 335 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £368,000 (£1,100 per pupil).

Across all 14 schools of The Challenge Academy Trust, income was £7,634 and spending £7,638 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 Warrington · Warrington local authority: places and applications

Great Sankey Primary School is part of The Challenge Academy Trust, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• Penketh High School Warrington
• Penketh South Community Primary School Warrington
• Dallam Community Primary School Warrington
• Priestley College Warrington
• Beamont Collegiate Academy Warrington
• Meadowside Community Primary and Nursery School Warrington
• Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School Warrington
• Bridgewater High School Warrington
• Broomfields Junior School Warrington
• Padgate Academy Warrington

What is Great Sankey Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Great Sankey Primary School is Strong standard, from an inspection in January 2026.

When was Great Sankey Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Great Sankey Primary School was last inspected in January 2026.

How many pupils does Great Sankey Primary School have?

Great Sankey Primary School has 350 pupils on roll.

What age range does Great Sankey Primary School cover?

Great Sankey Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Great Sankey Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 78% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Great Sankey Primary School?

Great Sankey Primary School is at Great Sankey Primary School, Liverpool Road, Great Sankey, Warrington, Cheshire, WA5 1SB.