Tonacliffe Primary School

Rossendale · OL12 8SS

General information Primary School · 3-11 years Who goes here 294 pupils, 14.4% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 15.6% on SEN support Behaviour 4.2% absence rate Staff 12.5% turnover Financials £6,261 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

We haven't asked this school for its behaviour and staffing figures yet. Sign up to tell us you'd like them, and we'll email you when they arrive.

Notify me

Your email address

Leave this empty

We'll email you a link to confirm first. Your address is only used for news about this school, and every email has a link to stop them. Privacy

Tonacliffe Primary School

General Information

Address: Tonacliffe Road, Whitworth, Whitworth, OL12 8SS – View on map
Phone: 01706344609
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Joanne Heap
Age range: 3-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 27 families put it first for 28 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 6 of the 28 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 10 · 2025 9 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

294 pupils out of 315 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 42
% eligible for free school meals: 14.4%
Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (less mixed than the Rossendale average)
English as an additional language: 2% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 12.5% a year (Rossendale 13%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 12% moved to another school, 88% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Lancashire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 9 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 3
Suspensions for bullying: 18 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 7 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Lancashire (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 4.2%
Persistently absent pupils: 6.4%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 15.6%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.7%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Moderate learning difficulty: 17 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 10 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 9 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 5 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 5 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 2 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Hearing impairment: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

Be the first to review — win £100 of books for your school Every honest review enters you into our prize draw

Behaviour

–

Openness

–

Teaching Quality

–

School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

–

SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

–

Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

–

Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2024 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 61% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 5% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: in line with the Rossendale average (61%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 59% against an expected 63%)
3-year average (expected standard): 59%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 80% · Writing 68% · Maths 77% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 68%
Average test scores: reading 106, maths 103
Based on: 44 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolRossendale averageEngland↘ Falling Down 12 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was in line with the Rossendale average (61%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 17th of 31 junior and primary schools in the area

#16Bacup St Saviour's Community Primary School64%
=17Bacup Thorn Primary School61%
=17Tonacliffe Primary School61%
#19Haslingden Primary School58%
#20Haslingden St James Church of England Primary School52%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Helmshore Primary School88%
=2St James-the-Less Roman Catholic Primary School, Rawtenstall81%
=2St Veronica's Roman Catholic Primary School, Helmshore81%
#4Edenfield Church of England Primary School80%
#5St Peter's Roman Catholic Primary School, Newchurch74%
#6Waterfoot Primary School73%
=7Our Lady and St Anselm's Roman Catholic Primary School, Whitworth72%
=7Ramsbottom Stubbins Primary School72%
=9St Anne's Church of England Primary School71%
=9St Bartholomew's Church of England Primary School71%
=9St John's Stonefold CofE Primary School71%
=9St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Haslingden71%
#13Crawshawbooth Primary School67%
#14Britannia Community Primary School66%
#15St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School65%
#16Bacup St Saviour's Community Primary School64%
=17Bacup Thorn Primary School61%
=17Tonacliffe Primary School61%
#19Haslingden Primary School58%
#20Haslingden St James Church of England Primary School52%
=21Northern Primary School50%
=21St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Stacksteads, Bacup50%
=21St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall50%
#24Haslingden Broadway Primary School48%
#25Rawtenstall St Paul's Church of England Primary School44%
#26Bacup Holy Trinity Stacksteads Church of England Primary School37%
#27Water Primary School36%
#28Rawtenstall Balladen Community Primary School32%
#29Sharneyford Primary School30%
#30Rawtenstall Newchurch Church of England Primary School20%
#31St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy15%

View full Ofsted inspection report

23rd of 25 primary schools in Rossendale for Ofsted rating

#21St Mary's CofE Primary School RawtenstallGood
#22St Veronica's Roman Catholic Primary School, HelmshoreGood
#23Tonacliffe Primary SchoolGood
#24Water Primary SchoolGood
#25Waterfoot Primary SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, HaslingdenOutstanding
#2Bacup Holy Trinity Stacksteads Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#3Bacup St Saviour's Community Primary SchoolGood
#4Bacup Thorn Primary SchoolGood
#5Crawshawbooth Primary SchoolGood
#6Edenfield Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#7Haslingden Primary SchoolGood
#8Haslingden St James Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#9Helmshore Primary SchoolGood
#10Northern Primary SchoolGood
#11Our Lady and St Anselm's Roman Catholic Primary School, WhitworthGood
#12Ramsbottom Stubbins Primary SchoolGood
#13Rawtenstall Newchurch Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#14Rawtenstall St Paul's Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#15Sharneyford Primary SchoolGood
#16St Anne's Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#17St Bartholomew's Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#18St James-the-Less Roman Catholic Primary School, RawtenstallGood
#19St John With St Michael Church of England Primary SchoolGood
#20St John's Stonefold CofE Primary SchoolGood
#21St Mary's CofE Primary School RawtenstallGood
#22St Veronica's Roman Catholic Primary School, HelmshoreGood
#23Tonacliffe Primary SchoolGood
#24Water Primary SchoolGood
#25Waterfoot Primary SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,261 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

27th of 31 primary schools in Rossendale for spending per pupil

#25Our Lady and St Anselm's Roman Catholic Primary School, Whitworth£6,666
#26Helmshore Primary School£6,335
#27Tonacliffe Primary School£6,261
#28Britannia Community Primary School£6,159
#29Crawshawbooth Primary School£6,100

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy£11,584
#2Rawtenstall Balladen Community Primary School£9,886
#3Rawtenstall Newchurch Church of England Primary School£9,404
#4Sharneyford Primary School£9,140
#5St John With St Michael Church of England Primary School£9,109
#6Bacup St Saviour's Community Primary School£8,875
#7Water Primary School£8,725
#8St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School, Stacksteads, Bacup£8,163
#9St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Haslingden£7,991
#10Waterfoot Primary School£7,914
#11Northern Primary School£7,502
#12Bacup Holy Trinity Stacksteads Church of England Primary School£7,388
#13St Bartholomew's Church of England Primary School£7,350
#14Haslingden St James Church of England Primary School£7,307
#15St Mary's CofE Primary School Rawtenstall£7,283
#16St John's Stonefold CofE Primary School£7,221
#17Haslingden Primary School£7,163
#18St Veronica's Roman Catholic Primary School, Helmshore£7,125
#19Bacup Thorn Primary School£7,022
#20St Peter's Roman Catholic Primary School, Newchurch£7,000
#21Haslingden Broadway Primary School£6,976
#22St Anne's Church of England Primary School£6,954
#23Rawtenstall St Paul's Church of England Primary School£6,807
#24Ramsbottom Stubbins Primary School£6,746
#25Our Lady and St Anselm's Roman Catholic Primary School, Whitworth£6,666
#26Helmshore Primary School£6,335
#27Tonacliffe Primary School£6,261
#28Britannia Community Primary School£6,159
#29Crawshawbooth Primary School£6,100
#30Edenfield Church of England Primary School£6,025
#31St James-the-Less Roman Catholic Primary School, Rawtenstall£6,016

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

Have you rated Tonacliffe Primary School yet? Your experience helps other parents.

Rate this school