Mersey Drive Community Primary School

Mersey Drive Community Primary School is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating across all inspection categories. The school has established a vibrant and supportive environment where pupils exhibit pride in their community and actively engage in their learning. Strong governance and leadership provide a solid foundation, contributing to a positive atmosphere that fosters pupils' personal development, and their understanding of British values is commendable. The school has made significant strides in delivering a broad and balanced curriculum, ensuring that pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), are well supported.

Strengths

• Pupils display a strong sense of pride and community.
• There is a nurturing relationship between staff and pupils.
• The curriculum is broad, well-structured, and matches national expectations.
• Strong support and early identification of pupils with SEND.
• Pupils demonstrate good behavior and citizenship.
• Effective initiatives to improve attendance and reduce persistent absence.
• Pupils have access to a range of extracurricular activities.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent delivery of the curriculum in some subjects.
• Limited appreciation of a diverse range of writers among some pupils.

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 Mersey Drive Community Primary School attended 92.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 22.0% 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, 3.6% of pupils at Mersey Drive Community Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Mersey Drive Community Primary School had 19.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.2% 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, 19.2% of pupils at Mersey Drive Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 9.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has a SEN unit with 10 pupils.

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 Mersey Drive Community Primary School received £9,479 and spent £9,437 for each of its 196 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £25,000 (£127 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 Manchester · Bury local authority: places and applications

What is Mersey Drive Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Mersey Drive Community Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Mersey Drive Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Mersey Drive Community Primary School was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Mersey Drive Community Primary School have?

Mersey Drive Community Primary School has 203 pupils on roll.

What age range does Mersey Drive Community Primary School cover?

Mersey Drive Community Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Mersey Drive Community Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 50% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Mersey Drive Community Primary School?

Mersey Drive Community Primary School is at Mersey Drive, Whitefield, Manchester, M45 8LN.