Spindle Point Primary School

Spindle Point Primary School is a warm, inclusive and well-led primary where pupils feel safe and valued. The school meets safeguarding standards and has a strong culture of attendance and behaviour. Pupils behave excellently, attendance is well above national averages, and persistent absence is below national. Early years provision is a particular strength: children thrive in an ambitious, language-rich curriculum and are very well prepared for Year 1. Leaders have an accurate view of the school and have addressed priorities from the previous inspection. Most pupils achieve well. Key stage 2 outcomes are above national averages over time, phonics outcomes are well above national, and disadvantaged pupils generally perform above national averages. Pupils with SEND access the same curriculum as their peers and make suitable progress from their starting points. The curriculum is broad and ambitious, and staff are well supported. Personal development is coherent, with pupils benefiting from PSHE, enrichment, leadership roles and thoughtful transition planning. However, some teaching activities do not consistently connect new knowledge to what pupils have learned previously. This means some pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, do not build the detailed, connected knowledge they need across the curriculum. Leaders also do not consistently identify the specific barriers some disadvantaged pupils face, so support is not always precisely matched to their needs. These are the main areas for further improvement; overall, the school is fulfilling expected standards and is strong in attendance, behaviour and early years.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate highly positive attitudes and behaviour is consistently excellent across the school.
• Attendance is well above national averages and persistent absence is below national, sustained over time.
• The early years curriculum is ambitious and highly effective, and children thrive and are well prepared for Year 1.
• Phonics teaching is systematic and sequenced, with outcomes well above the national average.
• Most pupils achieve well, and key stage 2 outcomes are above national averages over time.
• Pupils with SEND access the same curriculum as their peers and take a full part in school life.
• Leaders use additional funding thoughtfully and disadvantaged pupils generally achieve above national averages.
• Staff feel well supported, including early career teachers, and leaders consider wellbeing and workload.
• Governors are supportive, fulfil statutory duties and use visits to support and challenge leaders.
• Personal development is well sequenced, with strong PSHE, enrichment, leadership roles and transition planning.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture in which concerns are actively identified and managed.

Areas for Improvement

• Some teaching activities do not consistently connect new knowledge to pupils' prior learning.
• Some pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, do not build detailed and connected knowledge securely across the curriculum.
• Leaders do not consistently identify the specific barriers that some disadvantaged pupils face.
• Support for some disadvantaged pupils is not as precisely matched to their needs as it could be.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Spindle Point Primary School attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.7% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.9% of pupils at Spindle Point Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Spindle Point Primary School had 24.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.3% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 17.2% of pupils at Spindle Point Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Spindle Point Primary School received £6,248 and spent £6,574 for each of its 236 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £52,000 (£219 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Bolton · Bolton local authority: places and applications

What is Spindle Point Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Spindle Point Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Spindle Point Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Spindle Point Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Spindle Point Primary School have?

Spindle Point Primary School has 238 pupils on roll.

What age range does Spindle Point Primary School cover?

Spindle Point Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Spindle Point Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 74% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Spindle Point Primary School?

Spindle Point Primary School is at Moss Lane, Kearsley, Bolton, Lancashire, BL4 8SE.