St Edward's Church of England Primary School

About St Edward's Church of England Primary School

St Edward's Church of England Primary School in Rochdale received a Requires Improvement rating from Ofsted following its most recent graded inspection in October 2024, a downgrade from the Good rating it held in its previous inspection in 2014. The inspection report, published in November 2024, judged the quality of education, personal development, and leadership and management all as Requires Improvement, while behaviour and attitudes and early years provision were rated Good. The most telling academic metric is the Key Stage 2 combined reading, writing and maths expected standard: just 35% of pupils achieved this benchmark in the 2023/24 academic year. That is significantly below the Rochdale local authority average of 58% for primary schools. In the local authority rankings, St Edward's sits at 51st out of 52 primary schools, placing it in the bottom 50 tier nationally and at the 94th percentile nationally, meaning only about 6% of schools nationally performed worse on this measure.

Looking more closely at the 2023/24 KS2 results, the picture is mixed across subjects. In reading, 63% of pupils reached the expected standard and 15% achieved a higher standard, with an average scaled score of 102. Maths saw 71% reach the expected standard and 12% reach the higher standard, also with an average score of 102. Writing was the weakest area, with only 48% reaching the expected standard and none achieving the higher standard. No pupils achieved the higher standard in reading, writing and maths combined. Progress scores are not available for the school, so it is not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points. The school has 328 pupils on roll against a capacity of 364, and 26.9% are eligible for free school meals, which is above the national average and reflects the school's community context.

The school is oversubscribed for Reception entry in 2025/26, with 81 applications for 37 places and 35 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.19. Facilities include an ICT suite, library, music rooms, a sensory room, outdoor playground, gymnasium, playing fields and a chapel. Sports offered are football, cricket, dance and swimming, and clubs include eco club, drama, gardening and choir. The school has a range of SEND provisions covering moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health, speech, language and communication, physical disability, autistic spectrum disorder and other difficulties. Parent View responses from 54 respondents in the 2024/25 period show 72% would recommend the school, though there are notable areas of concern: only 40% agreed that SEND children receive the support they need, and only 50% agreed that concerns are dealt with properly. This school may suit families who value its Church of England character and range of facilities, but the academic outcomes and parent feedback suggest significant challenges remain.

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