Over Hall Community School

About Over Hall Community School

Over Hall Community School in Winsford was rated Good overall in its most recent Ofsted inspection in March 2024, a notable improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating in 2021. The inspection gave the school Outstanding marks for personal development, while quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and early years provision were all rated Good. On the key academic metric for primary schools, 56% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at the end of Key Stage 2 in the 2023/24 academic year. That places the school just below the local authority average of 61% for Cheshire West and Chester, and ranks it 73rd out of 110 primary schools in the area. In the North West region, it sits in the 64th percentile, and nationally in the 67th percentile, putting it in the bottom half of schools overall.

Looking more closely at the individual subjects, reading and maths both had an average scaled score of 105, which is exactly the national expectation. 70% of pupils reached the expected standard in both reading and writing, and 67% did so in maths. At the higher standard, 22% achieved in reading and maths, 19% in writing, and 7% across all three subjects. The school has no published progress scores for reading, writing or maths, so it is not possible to compare how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points. With 55.8% of pupils eligible for free school meals, Over Hall serves a significantly disadvantaged community compared with the national average, which provides important context for its results. The school's Ofsted report noted that pupils with special educational needs and disabilities are well supported, and that the curriculum has been strengthened since the previous inspection.

The school has capacity for 210 pupils but currently has 172 on roll, and for the 2025/26 intake it was oversubscribed, with 26 first-preference applications for 26 places and 35 total applications. Facilities include a sports hall, library, music rooms, dining hall, playing fields, a forest school area, an outdoor playground and a chapel. Sports on offer include tennis, cross country, athletics, swimming, cricket, football and netball, and there are clubs for drama, choir and chess. The school's SEND provisions cover specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, physical disability and autistic spectrum disorder. Over Hall is a state primary for mixed genders aged 4 to 11, with no nursery or sixth form provision, and is not a boarding school. It would suit families in the Winsford area looking for a school that has made clear recent progress in its Ofsted ratings and offers strong personal development support alongside a broad range of activities.

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