St Anne's Church of England Primary School

About St Anne's Church of England Primary School

St Anne's Church of England Primary School in Rossendale is a popular choice among local families, with twice as many applications as places available for the 2025/26 intake. The school received 48 applications for 24 places, and all 24 first-preference families were offered a spot, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2:1. This level of demand suggests parents who get their child in tend to be satisfied, though the school doesn't publish a formal parent recommendation percentage. The school is a state-funded primary for mixed-gender pupils aged 3 to 11, with a Church of England character, and it currently has 192 pupils on roll against a capacity of 210. Headteacher Jayne Webb leads a setting where 31.1% of pupils qualify for free school meals, which is above the national average and indicates a genuinely inclusive intake.

Academically, St Anne's most recent Ofsted inspection in May 2023 rated it Good overall, with Good marks for leadership and management, and early years provision. This is a clear improvement from its previous graded inspection in 2018, when it was rated Requires Improvement. At Key Stage 2 in the 2023/24 academic year, 53% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is below the Lancashire local authority average of 60%. The school's average reading score was 103, and maths 99. Only 5% of pupils achieved the higher standard in reading, writing and maths, placing the school in the bottom half nationally and 20th out of 31 schools in Rossendale. Progress scores aren't published, so it's hard to say how much value the school adds, but the raw results suggest a focus on getting pupils to the expected level rather than stretching the highest attainers.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including a library, music rooms, gymnasium, chapel and playing fields, with sports like netball, football, tennis, rounders and cricket on offer, plus clubs for choir, drama and chess. Its SEND provision is notably broad, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, speech and language needs, autistic spectrum disorder, social and emotional mental health needs, and multi-sensory impairment. This makes it a strong option for families whose children need additional support within a mainstream setting. The nearest outstanding-rated primary is St Peter's Roman Catholic Primary School in Newchurch, just 0.7 km away, so parents with a choice may want to compare the two. St Anne's is best suited to families who value a community-focused, inclusive Church of England school with good pastoral support, and who are comfortable with academic results that sit below the local average.

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