Moorside Community Primary Academy School
Back Lane, Holland Moor, Skelmersdale, WN8 9EA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- MOORSIDE COMMUNITY PRIMARY ACADEMY SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mr RICHARD DAVIS
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- West Lancashire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 196
- Pupils on roll
- 256
- URN
- 139495
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01695722931
About this school
Moorside Community Primary Academy School is a primary academy in Skelmersdale. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 256 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
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 30 | 30 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 60% | 57% | 59% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 13% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 70% | 77% | 66% |
| Expected standard in maths | 83% | 83% | 79% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 50% | 70% | 55% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 105.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -3.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.10 | - | - |
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 Moorside Community Primary Academy 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 | 60% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 57% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 59% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 265 |
| 2023/24 | 254 |
| 2024/25 | 255 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Moorside Community Primary Academy School compares
Moorside Community Primary Academy School ranked 264th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 38% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 59% | 5.8% | 54.2% | 256 | — |
| Holland Moor Primary School | 74% | 5.8% | 39.9% | 412 | 0.2 miles |
| Bishop Martin Church of England Primary School | 65% | 6.8% | 57% | 189 | 0.3 miles |
| St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School | 7% | 12.5% | 57.4% | 145 | 0.4 miles |
| Hillside Community Primary School | 52% | 7.1% | 62% | 151 | 0.6 miles |
| Little Digmoor Primary School | 32% | 10.5% | 67.2% | 138 | 0.8 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.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report19 March 2025
- 3 March 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 54.23%
- English as an additional language
- 8.6%
- Overall absence
- 5.81%
- Persistent absence
- 17.68%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Holland Moor Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
-
Bishop Martin Church of England Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
-
St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
-
Hillside Community Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
-
Little Digmoor Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
Other schools in Skelmersdale
Moorside Community Primary Academy School ranks 12th of the 18 ranked primary schools in Skelmersdale.
- Bishop Martin Church of England Primary School Primary
- Brookfield Park Primary School Primary
- Cobbs Brow School Primary
- Crawford Village Primary School Primary
- Crow Orchard Primary School Primary
- Delph Side Community Primary School Primary
- Hillside Community Primary School Primary
- Holland Moor Primary School Primary
- Little Digmoor Primary School Primary
- St Edmund's Catholic Primary School Primary
- St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School Primary
- St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Moorside Community Primary Academy School teach?
- Moorside Community Primary Academy School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Skelmersdale.
- Who is the headteacher of Moorside Community Primary Academy School?
- The headteacher of Moorside Community Primary Academy School is Mr RICHARD DAVIS, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Moorside Community Primary Academy School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Moorside Community Primary Academy 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 Moorside Community Primary Academy School?
- Moorside Community Primary Academy School has 256 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Moorside Community Primary Academy School full?
- Moorside Community Primary Academy School has capacity for 196 pupils and 256 on roll (131%), 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 Moorside Community Primary Academy School a faith school?
- No. Moorside Community Primary Academy School has no designated religious character.
- Does Moorside Community Primary Academy School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Moorside Community Primary Academy School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Moorside Community Primary Academy School?
- Moorside Community Primary Academy School is part of MOORSIDE COMMUNITY PRIMARY ACADEMY SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Moorside Community Primary Academy School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 60% in 2022/23 and 59% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Moorside Community Primary Academy School rank locally?
- Moorside Community Primary Academy School ranked 264th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 38% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Moorside Community Primary Academy School's absence rate?
- Moorside Community Primary Academy School's overall absence rate is 5.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Moorside Community Primary Academy School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Moorside Community Primary Academy 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 1 July 2026.