School Chooser

Vernon Primary School

Primary · ages 4-11MixedCouncil394 pupilsCheshire East
School Chooser Score
97
Well above
similar schools
Likely range 94 to 99
Out of 100. Better than 96% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedOutstandingLast Ofsted inspection, May 2024
Reached the expected level at 1177%England 63%
Attendance96.8%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families5%Far fewer than most schools
PlacesFull394 pupils, 350 places
Pupils per teacher21.2School workforce census

Vernon Primary School is a council school in Poynton for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 394 pupils, 44 more than it has places for. About 5 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 97 out of 100. That puts it well above schools like it, ahead of 96% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was outstanding, back in 2024.

Clumber Road, Poynton, SK12 1NW01625 872556vernonprimaryschool.comMrs Jo Carvell headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 14 May 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Outstanding overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Outstanding
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Outstanding
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Outstanding
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Outstanding
Early years
Outstanding
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

47 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1177%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level15%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score108.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score109.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 79%79%20172018: 65%65%20182019: 80%80%20192023: 80%80%20232024: 75%75%20242025: 77%77%2025
Since 2017: -2%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017Cheshire EastEngland
Pupils tested475756454953
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths77%75%80%80%65%79%65%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths15%14%18%16%10%15%7%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score108.0108.0108.0107.0105.0107.0106.2105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score109.0107.0108.0108.0105.0106.0105.1104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score107.0106.0107.0108.0105.0106.0106.0105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard87%86%84%84%69%85%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard87%86%86%91%84%83%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)87%89%93%87%96%87%
Reading progressReading progress score+2.6-0.6-3.2-0.2
Maths progressMaths progress score+3.5-0.2-2.6-0.7
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged60%29%33%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged85%89%73%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. Every gap at this school is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
74%79%
Gap 5 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Catchment area

Cheshire East council has drawn an official catchment area for this school. You can see it on the map below; it covers about 6.4 square kilometres. Living inside it moves your child up the queue when there are more applicants than places. It doesn't guarantee a place: the council's admissions rules decide the order.

Set your home postcode at the top of the page to see whether you live inside it.

Full380 pupils for 367 places, 2024/25
104% full

The school is full, with 13 more pupils than it has places for. More families apply than can get in, so things like how close you live and whether an older brother or sister is already here decide who gets a place. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Cheshire East council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

What a home inside the catchment costs

Typical sale price inside the catchment£440,000half sold for £375k to £573k
Homes sold275December 2023 to December 2025, Land Registry
Compared with the district+47%a typical home in the district sells for £300,000

Every home sold inside the council's catchment area, of any type, from HM Land Registry records. If homes here cost more than the district average, that is the price people pay to live close enough to get in.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll394Census January 2026
Places350113% full
Pupils from low-income families5%5% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English2%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support14%56 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan2%7 pupils with a plan
Average class size27.911 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)5%£27,900 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls183 / 211
White British pupils88%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 28.3 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 27.7 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Specific learning difficulty (22), Autistic spectrum disorder (18), emotional and mental health (11), language and communications needs (6), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (2), Hearing impairment (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll394382375380372377
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals5%5%6%7%5%4%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language2%1%2%2%1%1%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support10%9%3%3%5%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans2%2%2%2%2%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.8% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance96.8%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school3.7%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.32024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.6%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence3.2%4.1%4.0%5.6%2.6%4.0%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence2.6%3.5%3.1%4.9%2.3%3.1%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.6%0.6%0.9%0.8%0.3%0.9%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence3.7%7.1%7.4%12.1%5.0%5.9%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.30.00.50.50.3
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers18.6full-time equivalent, 24 people
Pupils per teacher21.2Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants7.4full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£52,486
Teachers who left in the year7%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher1.22023/24

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£5,765England £7,738. Total £2.2m
Income per pupil£5,908England £7,697. Total £2.3m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,163England £3,480
Money in reserve-1%In the red: -£19k, -£51 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£55kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£5,765spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m23512 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate36 per 1,000 people61% lower than the England average
Typical house price£300,000Cheshire East
Nearest bus stop30 mVernon Junior School, 23 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
St Paul's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary AcademyAcademy400 m110Good 202440Compare
Worth Primary SchoolAcademy710 m197Requires improvement 202315Compare
Lower Park SchoolAcademy0.7 miles272Good 202376Compare
Lostock Hall Primary SchoolAcademy1.0 miles197Good 202486Compare
Woodford Primary SchoolFree school1.7 miles149No overall grade 2025100Compare
Norbury Hall Primary SchoolAcademy1.8 miles457Good 202275Compare
Adlington Primary SchoolAcademy1.8 miles97No overall grade 202492Compare
Queensgate Primary SchoolAcademy1.8 milesNot inspectedCompare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Vernon Primary School with the 48 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 48 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats96%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the very top of its group. Its score of 97 is 16 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 31 · middle 82 · highest 100100

No school with a similar mix of pupils within 25 km scores clearly higher.

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 97 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 97% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 94 to 99. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%above
+0.24
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 47 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%well above
+0.43
Ofsted grade, 2.3 years old
Progress pupils make20%well above
+0.23
DfE progress measure; 47 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
-0.01
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%well above
+0.14
2024/25; 323 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%above
+0.08
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 47 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Vernon Primary School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Vernon Primary School scores 97 out of 100. That is well above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 96% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 94 to 99, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Vernon Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Vernon Primary School outstanding at its last full inspection on 14 May 2024.

How good are Vernon Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 77% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 15% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Vernon Primary School have?

394 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 350 places, so it is 113% full.

Is Vernon Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably. The school was full in 2024/25, with 13 more pupils than places. How close you live, and the school's other admissions rules, decide who gets in.

What is attendance like at Vernon Primary School?

Pupils were in school 96.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 4% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Vernon Primary School?

The average class had 27.9 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Clumber Road, Poynton, SK12 1NW
Telephone
01625 872556
Website
www.vernonprimaryschool.com
Headteacher
Mrs Jo Carvell
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Cheshire East
Ward
Poynton East and Pott Shrigley
Constituency
Macclesfield
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 January 2008 (result of amalgamation)
URN
135327 · LAESTAB 8953818 · UKPRN 10072345
Formerly
Vernon Junior School, Vernon Infant School

Where these figures come from