St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School
Moss Side Street, Shawforth, Rochdale, OL12 8EP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- FORWARD AS ONE CHURCH OF ENGLAND MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Paul Cowburn
- Diocese
- Diocese of Manchester
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Forward As One Church of England Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Rossendale and Darwen
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 119
- Pupils on roll
- 109
- URN
- 148745
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01706852614
About this school
St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School is a Church of England primary academy in Rochdale. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 109 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St John With St Michael Church of England 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 28 March 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 17 | 10 | 17 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 41% | 60% | 65% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 12% | 0% | 12% |
| Expected standard in reading | 65% | 70% | 82% |
| Expected standard in maths | 59% | 90% | 82% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 41% | 60% | 65% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 104.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.00 | - | - |
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 St John With St Michael Church of England 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 | 41% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 60% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 65% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 114 |
| 2023/24 | 117 |
| 2024/25 | 115 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School compares
St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School ranked 197th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 66% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 65% | 4.8% | 41.1% | 109 | — |
| Our Lady and St Anselm's Roman Catholic Primary School, Whitworth | 72% | 3.5% | 14.2% | 195 | 1.1 miles |
| Britannia Community Primary School | 66% | 3.4% | 12.4% | 204 | 1.1 miles |
| Bacup St Saviour's Community Primary School | 64% | 4.7% | 35.5% | 88 | 1.7 miles |
| St Bartholomew's Church of England Primary School | 71% | 6.7% | 40.7% | 161 | 1.8 miles |
| St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy | 15% | 7.9% | 76.2% | 94 | 1.9 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)
- 41.05%
- English as an additional language
- 0%
- Overall absence
- 4.77%
- Persistent absence
- 9.41%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Our Lady and St Anselm's Roman Catholic Primary School, Whitworth1.1 miles
Primary · Rochdale
-
Britannia Community Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Bacup
-
Bacup St Saviour's Community Primary School1.7 miles
Primary · Bacup
-
St Bartholomew's Church of England Primary School1.8 miles
Primary · Rochdale
-
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy1.9 miles
Primary · Bacup
Other schools in Rochdale
St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School ranks 14th of the 32 ranked primary schools in Rochdale.
- Alice Ingham Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Primary
- All Saints Church of England Primary School Primary
- Ashfield Valley Primary School Primary
- Belfield Community School Primary
- Brimrod Community Primary School Primary
- Broadfield Community Primary School Primary
- Caldershaw Primary School Primary
- Castleton Primary School Primary
- Crossgates Primary School Primary
- Deeplish Primary Academy Primary
- Greenbank Primary School Primary
- Hamer Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School teach?
- St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Rochdale.
- Who is the headteacher of St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School?
- The headteacher of St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School is Mr Paul Cowburn, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St John With St Michael Church of England 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 St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School?
- St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School has 109 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School full?
- St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School has capacity for 119 pupils and 109 on roll (92%), 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 St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Manchester.
- Does St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School part of an academy trust?
- St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School is part of FORWARD AS ONE CHURCH OF ENGLAND MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 41% in 2022/23 and 65% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School compare with other schools in Lancashire?
- St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School ranked 197th of 445 primary schools in Lancashire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 66% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School's absence rate?
- St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St John With St Michael Church of England 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 10 July 2026.