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Rainford CofE Primary School

Primary Ages 4-11 230 pupils St Helens
Ofsted: Good
All schools in St Helens

Rainford CofE Primary School is an academy converter in St Helens for pupils aged 4 to 11. It has a Church of England religious character. It has 230 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for Rainford CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2017 of its predecessor, Rainford CofE Primary School. In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Ofsted inspection: November 2023. KS2 results: 2025.

Type Primary / Academy converter
Age Range 4-11
Religion Church of England
Address Cross Pit Lane
Rainford
St Helens
Merseyside
WA11 8AJ
Phone 01744883281
Reference Number 148365

General Makeup

Number of pupils 230
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 57.83%
Girls: 42.17%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 10%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 1.3%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 27
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 25.3
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 28.3

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 9 11 20
2 14 11 25
3 12 14 26
4 18 13 31
5 15 11 26
6 18 12 30

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 90.9%
Mixed, Other 2.2%
White, Other 1.7%
White & Black (Caribbean) 1.3%
Chinese 1.3%
White & Asian 1.3%
Asian, Other 1.3%

This school has not been graded since it changed URN, usually on converting to an academy. The rating shown is from its predecessor, Rainford CofE Primary School, inspected in June 2017.

Overall Ofsted Rating Good
Last Report Date 27 Sep 2023 – no overall grade published for this inspection
Date Report
27 Sep 2023 School inspection
06 Mar 2021 Academy conversion letter
21 Jun 2017 Short inspection
Previously as Rainford CofE Primary School
10 May 2012 Full inspection:
02 Jul 2009 Full inspection:
03 Oct 2007 Curriculum and development visit
01 Feb 2006 Full inspection:
13 Nov 2000 Full inspection

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 70%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 9%

Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Subject School Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 107
Maths 104

Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading -0.3
Writing -0.6
Maths 0.1

How many students meet the standards

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Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

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Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

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Reception admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 16 0
Third Preference 15 1
From another Local Authority 6 0

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 Rainford CofE Primary School had 200 pupils for 315 places. 115 places (36.5%) were unfilled.

Pupils and places

Reception intake in the “Rainford Primary” planning area

St. Helens counted 49 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 57 in 2029–30, up 16%.

20212022202320242025
Places 315315315315315
Pupils 268250241227200
Unfilled 14.9%20.6%23.5%27.9%36.5%

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 Rainford CofE Primary School attended 96.3% 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

2022202320242025
Authorised absence 4.6%2.9%3.1%2.4%
Unauthorised absence 0.8%1.3%1.8%1.3%
Severely absent pupils 0.0%0.5%1.0%1.6%

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, 1.7% of pupils at Rainford CofE Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

20212022202320242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 1.11.26.85.32.5
Permanent exclusions 00010

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 Rainford CofE Primary School had 21.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

20222023202420252026
Pupils per adult 11.311.412.611.610.1
Teachers who left state teaching 16.9%8.9%10.9%0.0%–
Teachers who took any sick leave 46.7%21.4%60.0%70.0%–
Sick days per teacher 1.00.40.88.3–

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, 9.6% of pupils at Rainford CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Social, emotional and mental health 11 3
Speech, language and communication needs 4 2
Autistic spectrum disorder 2 2
Hearing impairment 2 0
Specific learning difficulty 1 1
Moderate learning difficulty 1 0
Physical disability 1 0

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 Rainford CofE Primary School received £7,003 and spent £6,689 for each of its 237 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £202,000 (£851 per pupil).

Across all 18 schools of Liverpool Diocesan Schools Trust, income was £7,382 and spending £7,357 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

2022202320242025
Revenue reserve £252,000£200,000£157,000£202,000
per pupil £1,009£762£635£851
In-year balance £116,000-£56,000-£51,000£74,000
per pupil £464-£213-£208£313

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.

Name Distance
Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School
Old Lane, Rainford, St Helens, Merseyside, WA11 8JF
0.33 miles
Rainford Brook Lodge Community Primary School
Rufford Road, Rainford, St Helens, Merseyside, WA11 8JX
0.37 miles
Crawford Village Primary School
Crawford Road, Crawford Village, Up Holland, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 9QP
1.96 miles
Little Digmoor Primary School
Abbeystead, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 9NF
2.56 miles
Bishop Martin Church of England Primary School
Birkrig, Digmoor, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 9BN
2.7 miles
St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School
Rainford Road, Windle, St Helens, Merseyside, WA10 6BX
2.71 miles
Bleak Hill Primary School
Hamilton Road, Windle, St Helens, Merseyside, WA10 6HG
2.79 miles
St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School
Blakehall, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 9AZ
2.88 miles
St Mary's Catholic Primary School
St Mary's School, Birchley Road, Billinge, Birchley Road, Nr Wigan, Lancashire, WN5 7QJ
2.88 miles
Moorside Community Primary Academy School
Back Lane, Holland Moor, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 9EA
2.93 miles
Bickerstaffe CofE Primary School and Nursery
Hall Lane, Bickerstaffe, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L39 0EH
3 miles
Rivington Primary School
Tennis Street North, Dentons Green, St Helens, Merseyside, WA10 6LF
3.08 miles
Delph Side Community Primary School
Eskdale, Tanhouse, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 6ED
3.1 miles
Carr Mill Primary School
Kentmere Avenue, Carr Mill, St Helens, Merseyside, WA11 7PQ
3.12 miles
Holland Moor Primary School
Cornbrook, Holland Moor Primary School, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 9AG
3.14 miles
St Julie's Catholic Primary School
Brooklands Road, Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside, WA10 5HG
3.14 miles
Billinge Chapel End Primary School
Carr Mill Road, Billinge, Wigan, Lancashire, WN5 7TX
3.21 miles
Hillside Community Primary School
Egerton, Tanhouse, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 6DE
3.24 miles
St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School
Derwent Road, Haresfinch, St Helens, Merseyside, WA11 9AT
3.31 miles
St Richard's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale
Sandy Lane, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 8LQ
3.33 miles
Name Distance
Rainford High School
Higher Lane, Rainford, St Helens, Merseyside, WA11 8NY
0.42 miles
A.R.T.S. Education
167a Ormskirk Road, Rainford, St Helens, Merseyside, WA11 8HR
0.51 miles
Hope High School
Carfield, Clay Brow, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 9DP
2.64 miles
Cowley International College
Hard Lane, St Helens, Merseyside, WA10 6PN
2.9 miles
Progress Arc Billinge School
Carr Mill Road, Billinge, Wigan, Lancashire, WN5 7TT
3.16 miles
Up Holland High School
Sandbrook Road, Orrell, Wigan, Lancashire, WN5 7AL
3.28 miles
De La Salle School
Mill Brow, Eccleston, St. Helens, Merseyside, WA10 4QH
3.29 miles
This Is My Education - TIME
Logic House, Central Street, St Helens, Merseyside, WA10 1UD
3.68 miles
Winstanley College
Winstanley Road, Billinge, Wigan, Lancashire, WN5 7XF
3.68 miles
West Lancashire Community High School
School Lane, Chapel House, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 8EH
3.69 miles
St Helens College
Water Street, St Helens, Merseyside, WA10 1PP
3.87 miles
Lathom High School : A Technology College
Glenburn Road, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 6JN
4.08 miles
Carmel College
Prescot Road, St Helens, Merseyside, WA10 3AG
4.13 miles
All Saints Catholic High School
Roughwood Drive, Kirkby, Knowsley, Merseyside, L33 8XF
4.17 miles
Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School
Glenburn Road, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 6JW
4.18 miles
St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy
Boardmans Lane, Blackbrook, St. Helens, Merseyside, WA11 9BB
4.38 miles
St Peter's Catholic High School
Howards Lane, Orrell, Wigan, Lancashire, WN5 8NU
4.39 miles
Maharishi Free School
Cobbs Brow Lane, Lathom, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L40 6JJ
4.69 miles
Bluebell Park School
Cawthorne Walk, Southdene, Kirkby, Liverpool, Merseyside, L32 3XP
4.75 miles
Dean Trust Wigan
Greenhey, Orrell, Wigan, Greater Manchester, WN5 0DQ
4.76 miles

All schools in St Helens · St. Helens local authority: places and applications

What is Rainford CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Rainford CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2017 of its predecessor, Rainford CofE Primary School.

When was Rainford CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Rainford CofE Primary School was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does Rainford CofE Primary School have?

Rainford CofE Primary School has 230 pupils on roll.

What age range does Rainford CofE Primary School cover?

Rainford CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Rainford CofE Primary School?

Rainford CofE Primary School is at Cross Pit Lane, Rainford, St Helens, Merseyside, WA11 8AJ.

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