The Acorns Primary and Nursery School
Pooltown Road, Ellesmere Port, CH65 7ED
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE ROWAN LEARNING TRUST
- Executive Headteacher
- Mr Nathan Painter
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- The Rowan Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Ellesmere Port and Bromborough
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 394
- Pupils on roll
- 356
- URN
- 149092
- Local authority
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01513551546
About this school
The Acorns Primary and Nursery School is a primary academy in Ellesmere Port. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 356 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Acorns Primary and Nursery School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 11 June 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 36 | 44 | 45 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 47% | 39% | 56% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 5% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 61% | 66% | 64% |
| Expected standard in maths | 75% | 50% | 64% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 64% | 61% | 62% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 103.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 100.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +3.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.80 | - | - |
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 The Acorns Primary and Nursery 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 | 47% | 57.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 39% | 57.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 56% | 59.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 354 |
| 2023/24 | 368 |
| 2024/25 | 370 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Acorns Primary and Nursery School compares
The Acorns Primary and Nursery School ranked 73rd of 116 primary schools in Cheshire West and Chester for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 31% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 56% | 5.8% | 52.8% | 356 | — |
| Brookside Primary School | 50% | 6.8% | 42.1% | 184 | 0.5 miles |
| William Stockton Community Primary School | 63% | 5.7% | 44.2% | 367 | 0.6 miles |
| Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School | 62% | 5.5% | 27% | 290 | 0.7 miles |
| Rivacre Valley Primary School | 58% | 8.2% | 36.2% | 339 | 0.7 miles |
| Westminster Community Primary School | 61% | 5.8% | 52.4% | 151 | 0.7 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)
- 52.77%
- English as an additional language
- 9.5%
- Overall absence
- 5.76%
- Persistent absence
- 16.49%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Brookside Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Ellesmere Port
-
William Stockton Community Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Ellesmere Port
-
Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Ellesmere Port
-
Rivacre Valley Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Ellesmere Port
-
Westminster Community Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Ellesmere Port
Other schools in Ellesmere Port
The Acorns Primary and Nursery School ranks 11th of the 20 ranked primary schools in Ellesmere Port.
- Brookside Primary School Primary
- Cambridge Road Community Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Childer Thornton Primary School Primary
- Ellesmere Port Christ Church CofE Primary School Primary
- Little Sutton C of E Primary School Primary
- Meadow Primary School Primary
- Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School Primary
- Parklands Community Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Rivacre Valley Primary School Primary
- Rossmore School Primary
- St Bernard's Roman Catholic Primary & Nursery School Primary
- St Mary of the Angels Catholic Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The Acorns Primary and Nursery School teach?
- The Acorns Primary and Nursery School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Ellesmere Port.
- Who is the executive headteacher of The Acorns Primary and Nursery School?
- The executive headteacher of The Acorns Primary and Nursery School is Mr Nathan Painter, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Acorns Primary and Nursery School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Acorns Primary and Nursery 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 The Acorns Primary and Nursery School?
- The Acorns Primary and Nursery School has 356 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is The Acorns Primary and Nursery School full?
- The Acorns Primary and Nursery School has capacity for 394 pupils and 356 on roll (90%), 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 The Acorns Primary and Nursery School a faith school?
- No. The Acorns Primary and Nursery School has no designated religious character.
- Does The Acorns Primary and Nursery School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records The Acorns Primary and Nursery School as having nursery classes.
- Is The Acorns Primary and Nursery School part of an academy trust?
- The Acorns Primary and Nursery School is part of THE ROWAN LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Acorns Primary and Nursery School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 47% in 2022/23 and 56% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Acorns Primary and Nursery School compare with other schools in Cheshire West and Chester?
- The Acorns Primary and Nursery School ranked 73rd of 116 primary schools in Cheshire West and Chester for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 31% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Acorns Primary and Nursery School's absence rate?
- The Acorns Primary and Nursery School's overall absence rate is 5.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Acorns Primary and Nursery School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Acorns Primary and Nursery 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.