Gillibrand Primary School

Gillibrand Primary School is a happy, welcoming and nurturing school where pupils are well behaved and achieve well. This was its first section 5 inspection; the school converted to academy status in March 2024 and is part of the Aspirational Futures Multi-Academy Trust, having previously been judged outstanding before becoming an academy. Safeguarding is effective. Leaders have built an ambitious, well-ordered curriculum, and staff use strong subject knowledge and assessment to help pupils, including those with SEND, build knowledge securely. Reading and phonics are a clear priority, and pupils become confident readers who enjoy books. Personal development is exceptionally strong: pupils take on responsibilities, treat others with respect and talk maturely about different cultures and religions. Behaviour is good, attendance is in line with national levels, and staff feel well supported. The main area for improvement is early writing. Expectations are not ambitious enough, teaching is variable, and resources in early years and key stage 1 are not well matched to pupils’ needs. As a result, some pupils form letters incorrectly and carry misconceptions into later years, and their progress in writing is weaker than in reading.

Strengths

• Happy, welcoming and nurturing environment where pupils feel safe
• High expectations for pupils’ achievement and behaviour
• Ambitious, carefully sequenced curriculum across all subjects
• Strong subject knowledge and effective assessment to address gaps
• Pupils, including those with SEND, achieve well
• Effective phonics and reading provision that builds fluent, confident readers
• Well-organised early years provision that develops independence and resilience
• Outstanding personal development, with pupils taking responsibilities and showing mutual respect
• Calm, orderly behaviour and effective behaviour policy
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Supportive leadership that considers staff well-being
• Attendance in line with national levels

Areas for Improvement

• Expectations for early writing are not sufficiently ambitious
• Teaching of early writing is variable
• Writing resources in early years and key stage 1 are not well matched to pupils’ needs
• Some pupils develop misconceptions about letter formation that persist because staff do not address them effectively enough
• Pupils’ progress in writing is weaker than in reading

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 Gillibrand Primary School attended 95.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.7% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Gillibrand 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 Gillibrand Primary School had 20.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7).

Pupils per teacher

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, 13.9% of pupils at Gillibrand Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 8.0% 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 Gillibrand Primary School received £7,567 and spent £7,316 for each of its 201 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £353,000 (£1,755 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of Aspirational Futures Multi-Academy Trust, income was £8,052 and spending £7,652 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 Chorley · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

Gillibrand Primary School is part of Aspirational Futures Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• Parklands High School Chorley
• Highfield Community Primary School Chorley
• Balshaw Lane Community Primary School Chorley
• Walton-Le-Dale High School Preston

What is Gillibrand Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Gillibrand Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Gillibrand Primary School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Gillibrand Primary School have?

Gillibrand Primary School has 201 pupils on roll.

What age range does Gillibrand Primary School cover?

Gillibrand Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Gillibrand Primary School?

Gillibrand Primary School is at Grosvenor Road, Chorley, Lancashire, PR7 2PJ.