Newton-le-Willows Primary School

About Newton-le-Willows Primary School

Newton-le-Willows Primary School sits within St. Helens local authority, a borough with 54 primary schools where only seven hold an Outstanding Ofsted rating. The school itself ranks 29th out of 47 primaries in the LA on the key stage 2 expected standard measure, placing it in the bottom half locally. For context, the top-performing peers in the area are St Mary's Catholic Primary School, St Mary & St Thomas CofE Primary School, and St Aidan's CofE Primary School Billinge. The nearest school with an Outstanding grade is St Peter's CofE Primary School, just 0.6 kilometres away. Newton-le-Willows is a larger-than-average state primary, with 602 pupils on roll against a capacity of 637, and it offers nursery provision for children from age three. The school is non-denominational and mixed, with a headteacher, Lauren Chisnall, leading a team that has maintained a Good Ofsted rating since its last graded inspection in 2016.

In its most recent key stage 2 assessments from the 2023/24 academic year, 56 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That figure sits below the St. Helens local authority average of 61 per cent. Looking at individual subjects, 74 per cent met the expected standard in writing, 68 per cent in maths, and 64 per cent in reading. At the higher standard, 11 per cent achieved the top marks across all three subjects. Average scaled scores were 103 in reading and 102 in maths. Nationally, the school ranks 9,156th out of 13,686 primaries on the same combined measure, placing it in the bottom half of schools across England. In the North West region, it sits at 1,311th out of 2,065. The school’s Ofsted history shows improvement: its 2014 inspection rated it Requires Improvement overall, but by the 2016 graded inspection it had risen to Good, a rating confirmed in a 2021 ungraded inspection where leadership and management, early years provision, and overall effectiveness were all judged Good.

The school is clearly popular with local families. For the 2025/26 reception intake, it received 129 applications for 70 places, making it oversubscribed with a ratio of 1.84 applicants per place. Of the 57 first-preference applications, 56 were offered places. Facilities include playing fields, a library, music rooms, a sports hall, a forest school, and a chapel. Sports provision covers netball, athletics, swimming, dance, football, and cricket, while extracurricular clubs range from coding and choir to gardening, chess, and drama. The school’s SEND support is broad, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate to severe learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. This is a school that suits families seeking a large, well-subscribed primary with strong SEND provision and a range of activities, though academic outcomes are slightly below the local average.

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