Darnhall Primary School
Sandyhill Road, Darnhall, Winsford, CW7 1JL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Tomlinson
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- Mid Cheshire
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 405
- Pupils on roll
- 440
- URN
- 111133
- Local authority
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01606593315
About this school
Darnhall Primary School is a community primary school in Winsford. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 440 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 61 | 44 | 51 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 54% | 59% | 49% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 2% | 4% |
| Expected standard in reading | 74% | 75% | 59% |
| Expected standard in maths | 70% | 75% | 65% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 69% | 80% | 65% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 105.0 | 102.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 104.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.60 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Darnhall Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Cheshire West and Chester average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 54% | 57.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 59% | 57.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 49% | 59.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 432 |
| 2023/24 | 446 |
| 2024/25 | 445 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Darnhall Primary School compares
Darnhall Primary School ranked 94th of 116 primary schools in Cheshire West and Chester for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 20% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 33% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49% | 6.3% | 44.9% | 440 | — |
| Over Hall Community School | 38% | 6% | 57.6% | 158 | 0.5 miles |
| St. Chad's Church of England Primary and Nursery School | 61% | 6.8% | 30.7% | 175 | 0.6 miles |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy | 50% | 5.1% | 23.8% | 326 | 0.8 miles |
| Over St John's CofE Primary School | 71% | 5.4% | 37.2% | 135 | 0.9 miles |
| Winsford High Street Community Primary School | 46% | 6.4% | 31.3% | 511 | 0.9 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 44.85%
- English as an additional language
- 2.2%
- Overall absence
- 6.32%
- Persistent absence
- 18.75%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Over Hall Community School0.5 miles
Primary · Winsford
-
St. Chad's Church of England Primary and Nursery School0.6 miles
Primary · Winsford
-
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Winsford
-
Over St John's CofE Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Winsford
-
Winsford High Street Community Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Winsford
Other schools in Winsford
Darnhall Primary School ranks 6th of the 10 ranked primary schools in Winsford.
- Grange Community Nursery and Primary School Primary
- Over Hall Community School Primary
- Over St John's CofE Primary School Primary
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Primary
- St. Chad's Church of England Primary and Nursery School Primary
- The Oak View Academy Primary
- Wharton CofE Primary School Primary
- Willow Wood Community Nursery and Primary School Primary
- Winsford High Street Community Primary School Primary
- The Winsford Academy Secondary
- Hebden Green Community School Academies
- Oaklands School Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Darnhall Primary School teach?
- Darnhall Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Winsford.
- Who is the headteacher of Darnhall Primary School?
- The headteacher of Darnhall Primary School is Mrs Sarah Tomlinson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Darnhall Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Darnhall Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Darnhall Primary School?
- Darnhall Primary School has 440 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Darnhall Primary School full?
- Darnhall Primary School has capacity for 405 pupils and 440 on roll (109%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Darnhall Primary School a faith school?
- No. Darnhall Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Darnhall Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Darnhall Primary School as having nursery classes.
- What SEN provision does Darnhall Primary School have?
- The schools register lists Darnhall Primary School's special educational needs provision as: SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Darnhall Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 54% in 2022/23 and 49% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Darnhall Primary School rank locally?
- Darnhall Primary School ranked 94th of 116 primary schools in Cheshire West and Chester for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 20% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 33% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Darnhall Primary School's absence rate?
- Darnhall Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Darnhall Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Darnhall Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.