Sandiway Primary School

Sandiway Primary School is a warm, welcoming school where pupils are happy, articulate and highly engaged in their learning. Inspectors found considerable improvement since the previous inspection, with an ambitious and exciting curriculum, effective teaching and strong achievement, including for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Behaviour and personal development are particular strengths: pupils show exemplary independence, self-control and responsibility, and they benefit from a wide range of clubs, responsibilities and community links. Attendance is high and persistent absence has been reduced. Leadership and governance are strong, staff are well trained and well supported, and parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. The trust and local academy board have provided effective support through a period of significant change, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. Early years provision gives children a good start, with children taking pride in their work and achieving well. The main area for improvement is that in a small number of subjects, pupils have gaps in key prior knowledge and vocabulary because of weaknesses in the previous curriculum. The school should identify and address these gaps so that pupils can build new learning securely over time. This is an academy converter within the Create Learning Trust, and it was previously judged to require improvement.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, curious and enthusiastic learners who enjoy lessons and do their best.
• The curriculum has been considerably improved and is exciting and ambitious.
• Teachers explain new knowledge clearly and pupils remember it well.
• Pupils with SEND are identified early and receive the right support to learn alongside their peers.
• Assessment is used effectively to check learning and address misconceptions.
• Staff are well trained to deliver the phonics scheme, and pupils become confident readers.
• Pupils demonstrate exemplary behaviour, self-control and independence.
• Pupils take responsibility and contribute actively to school and community life.
• Personal development is strong, including understanding of British values, diversity and different faiths.
• Attendance is high and persistent absence has been successfully reduced.
• Leaders have managed significant change well and staff value the training and support they receive.
• Governance and trust support are strong, and parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school.

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, pupils have gaps in key prior knowledge and vocabulary because of weaknesses in the previous curriculum.
• Some pupils do not have a firm foundation on which to build new learning in these subjects.

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 Sandiway Primary School attended 96.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.0% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Sandiway 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 Sandiway Primary School had 26.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.6% 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, 10.4% of pupils at Sandiway Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.9% 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 Sandiway Primary School received £6,965 and spent £7,274 for each of its 201 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £61,000 (-£303 per pupil).

Across all 4 schools of Create Learning Trust, income was £6,597 and spending £6,655 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

Sandiway Primary School is part of Create Learning Trust, which runs 4 schools. The nearest others:

• Cuddington Primary School Northwich
• Hartford Primary School Northwich
• Little Leigh Primary School Northwich

What is Sandiway Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sandiway Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Sandiway Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Sandiway Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Sandiway Primary School have?

Sandiway Primary School has 202 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sandiway Primary School cover?

Sandiway Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

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

In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Sandiway Primary School?

Sandiway Primary School is at Weaverham Road, Sandiway, Northwich, Cheshire, CW8 2ND.