Tonacliffe Primary School
Tonacliffe Road, Whitworth, Whitworth, OL12 8SS
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Joanne Heap
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Rossendale and Darwen
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 315
- Pupils on roll
- 294
- URN
- 119271
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01706344609
About this school
Tonacliffe Primary School is a community primary school in Whitworth. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 294 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Tonacliffe Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person 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
- Good
- 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 | 44 | 42 | 44 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 73% | 43% | 61% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 9% | 0% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 82% | 62% | 80% |
| Expected standard in maths | 82% | 57% | 77% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 84% | 67% | 68% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 104.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 101.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.50 | - | - |
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 Tonacliffe 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 | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 73% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 43% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 61% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 321 |
| 2023/24 | 317 |
| 2024/25 | 305 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Tonacliffe Primary School compares
Tonacliffe Primary School ranked 243rd of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 61% | 4.2% | 16.9% | 294 | — |
| St Bartholomew's Church of England Primary School | 71% | 6.7% | 40.7% | 161 | 0.5 miles |
| Shawclough Community Primary School | 63% | 6.2% | 27.3% | 428 | 1.1 miles |
| Our Lady and St Anselm's Roman Catholic Primary School, Whitworth | 72% | 3.5% | 14.2% | 195 | 1.1 miles |
| Healey Foundation Primary School | 73% | 3.9% | 24.5% | 209 | 1.2 miles |
| Meanwood Community Nursery and Primary School | 39% | 5.8% | 57.1% | 298 | 1.7 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)
- 16.85%
- English as an additional language
- 1%
- Overall absence
- 4.15%
- Persistent absence
- 6.4%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Bartholomew's Church of England Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Rochdale
-
Shawclough Community Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Rochdale
-
Our Lady and St Anselm's Roman Catholic Primary School, Whitworth1.1 miles
Primary · Rochdale
-
Healey Foundation Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Rochdale
-
Meanwood Community Nursery and Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Rochdale
Common questions
- What ages does Tonacliffe Primary School teach?
- Tonacliffe Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Whitworth.
- Who is the headteacher of Tonacliffe Primary School?
- The headteacher of Tonacliffe Primary School is Mrs Joanne Heap, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Tonacliffe Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Tonacliffe 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 many pupils are at Tonacliffe Primary School?
- Tonacliffe Primary School has 294 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Tonacliffe Primary School full?
- Tonacliffe Primary School has capacity for 315 pupils and 294 on roll (93%), so it has space against 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 Tonacliffe Primary School a faith school?
- No. Tonacliffe Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Tonacliffe Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Tonacliffe Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Tonacliffe Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 73% in 2022/23 and 61% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Tonacliffe Primary School compare with other schools in Lancashire?
- Tonacliffe Primary School ranked 243rd of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Tonacliffe Primary School's absence rate?
- Tonacliffe Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Tonacliffe Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Tonacliffe 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 30 June 2026.