Ofsted: Good trending_up Places Available emoji_events #48 in Wigan public Top 56% UK

St James' Church of England Primary School

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMrs Alison Jackson

corporate_fareLIVERPOOL DIOCESAN SCHOOLS TRUST

location_onWigan, WN3 5XE

language Visit Website phone 1942703952

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2011

groups

Students

252

school

Expected Standard

62%

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

1.0x

summarize

St James' Church of England Primary School is a Academy converter primary school in Wigan, serving ages 2-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Ranks in the top 56% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

St James' Church of England Primary School is an academy converter in Wigan, admitting pupils aged 2-11. It is part of LIVERPOOL DIOCESAN SCHOOLS TRUST. The school has approximately 233 pupils on roll, of whom 53% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 62% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 7% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #48 of 97 primaries in Wigan and #6,336 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2011. The school's current overall rating is Good.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 1.0× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 23.5:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there was 1 permanent exclusion. The average suspension rate was 2.9 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

62%

LA 63%

Reading79% LA 75%

Writing66% LA 72%

Maths66% LA 76%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

102

GPS SS

102

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

45%

LA 63%England 61%

Reading55% LA 75% · Eng 74%

Writing69% LA 74% · Eng 72%

Maths52% LA 75% · Eng 73%

Read SS

100

Maths SS

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

47%

LA 62%England 60%

Reading53% LA 74% · Eng 73%

Writing67% LA 74% · Eng 71%

Maths50% LA 75% · Eng 73%

Read SS

Maths SS

GPS SS

100

Progress (0 = national avg)

-4.9

Read

LA 0.2

-7.3 to -2.6

-0.4

Write

LA 0.9

-2.6 to 1.8

-5.5

Maths

LA 0.5

-7.7 to -3.3

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

59%

LA 65%England 65%

Reading70% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing78% LA 78% · Eng 78%

Maths78% LA 78% · Eng 79%

Read SS

102

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

104

Progress (0 = national avg)

0.1

Read

LA -0.2

-2.3 to 2.6

1.3

Write

LA 0.4

-1.0 to 3.6

1.8

Maths

LA 0.1

-0.4 to 3.9

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

No digital report timeline available.

Inspection History

2 Evaluations

2011-02-08

S5 Inspection EIF

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2008-01-16

None EIF

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

gavel

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

2.6%per term

warning Above Average

National average: 0.8% for this term (primary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

2.1%(5 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

1pupils

gavel Exclusion recorded

National average: 1.225% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 233 pupils. During this period, there were 6 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 2.6%, which is above the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	233	6	2.6%	0.8%	1
2024/25 (Autumn term)	223	7	3.1%	0.9%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	249	1	0.4%	0.8%	0
2023/24 (Spring term)	237	5	2.1%	0.7%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	228	4	1.8%	0.8%	1
2022/23 (Summer term)	258	4	1.6%	0.7%	0
2022/23 (Spring term)	252	1	0.4%	0.6%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	236	1	0.4%	0.6%	0
2021/22 (Summer term)	250	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	244	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	238	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	253	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	247	2	0.8%	0.1%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	242	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Summer term)	251	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	251	2	0.8%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	246	0	0.0%	0.6%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	265	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	206	1	0.5%	0.5%	1
2018/19 (Autumn term)	203	2	1.0%	0.5%	0

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Speech, Language & Communication 29 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 18 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 13 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 8 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 3 pupils

Physical Disability 3 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 1 pupils

Profound & Multiple Learning 1 pupils

Hearing Impairment 1 pupils

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Parent View on Pastoral Care

Results from the official Ofsted Parent View survey, reflecting direct parent sentiment regarding the school environment.

My child is happy at this school.

62.0%Positive

My child feels safe at this school.

67.0%Positive

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

25.0%Positive

View All Survey Responseskeyboard_arrow_down

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

strongly agree8%

agree33%

disagree29%

strongly disagree21%

don't know8%

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

strongly agree8%

agree29%

disagree38%

strongly disagree25%

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

strongly agree8%

agree17%

disagree42%

strongly disagree29%

not applicable4%

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

yes54%

no46%

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

strongly agree8%

agree31%

disagree31%

strongly disagree23%

dont know8%

The school has high expectations for my child.

strongly agree8%

agree46%

disagree29%

strongly disagree8%

don't know8%

My child does well at this school.

strongly agree21%

agree42%

disagree29%

strongly disagree8%

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

strongly agree13%

agree25%

disagree38%

strongly disagree25%

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

strongly agree17%

agree50%

disagree13%

strongly disagree4%

don't know17%

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

strongly agree17%

agree58%

disagree17%

strongly disagree4%

don't know4%

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

strongly agree8%

agree21%

disagree46%

strongly disagree17%

don't know8%

I would recommend this school to another parent.

yes21%

no79%

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School Summary

Academic Performance

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Faith Priority (Church of England)

Distance to School

School Capacity

Primary Admission Trends

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Parent View on Pastoral Care

My child is happy at this school.

My child feels safe at this school.

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

The school has high expectations for my child.

My child does well at this school.

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

I would recommend this school to another parent.

Funding & Staffing

School Funding Allocation

Funding Breakdown

Staffing

Teacher Turnover

Top Primary Schools in Wigan

St Benedict's Catholic Primary School Hindley

Highfield St Matthew's Church of England Primary School

Golborne Community Primary School

Orrell Lamberhead Green Academy

Gilded Hollins Community School

Hindsford CofE Primary School