Boarshaw Community Primary School

Boarshaw Community Primary School is a larger-than-average primary in a deprived area, with high proportions of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and a designated SEN unit for speech, language and communication needs and autism. Inspectors found the school meeting expected standards across all evaluated areas, with safeguarding met. Pupils are safe, behave well, and benefit from a calm, inclusive culture; leaders know families well and provide strong pastoral and family support. Strengths include inclusion, early intervention for gaps in literacy and numeracy, early years communication support, and a broad personal development programme. Staff morale is high and governance is effective. However, attainment at the end of key stage 2 remains below the national average, especially in reading and writing, and attendance and persistent absence are above national averages despite recent improvement. Disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes are improving but gaps remain. Next steps focus on rigorously monitoring impact on achievement for all pupils and accelerating attendance improvements.

Strengths

• Inclusive culture ensures pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils access the full curriculum and feel a sense of belonging.
• The dedicated SEN unit provides effective provision for pupils with speech, language and communication needs and autism.
• Leaders identify pupils’ needs quickly and work closely with families and external agencies.
• Early intervention addresses gaps in literacy and numeracy for pupils joining with limited foundational knowledge.
• The early years curriculum adapts well to communication gaps, particularly for children who do not speak English as a first language.
• Personal development is tailored and includes British values, online safety, cultural awareness and a wide range of extracurricular opportunities.
• Staff morale is high, professional development is well matched to priorities, and consistent staffing supports strong relationships.
• Pupils behave well in a calm environment, bullying is rare, and pupils trust adults to respond to concerns.
• Governors understand the school well and challenge and support leaders effectively.
• Leaders support families and the community, including by removing financial barriers to participation.
• Attendance tracking and support for vulnerable pupils have led to noticeable recent improvements.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils’ attainment at the end of key stage 2 remains below the national average, especially in reading and writing.
• Overall attendance and persistent absence remain above national averages, despite recent improvements.
• Disadvantaged pupils’ achievement gaps remain, particularly in reading and writing.
• Leaders should rigorously monitor the impact of their work on the achievement of all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Leaders should continue to accelerate improvements in attendance, especially for pupils facing ongoing barriers.

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 Boarshaw Community Primary School attended 93.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.6% 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, 7.1% of pupils at Boarshaw Community 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 Boarshaw Community Primary School had 23.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.5% 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, 19.3% of pupils at Boarshaw Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 9.4% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has a SEN unit with 24 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 Boarshaw Community Primary School received £8,534 and spent £8,458 for each of its 446 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £191,000 (£429 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 · Rochdale local authority: places and applications

What is Boarshaw Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Boarshaw Community Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Boarshaw Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Boarshaw Community Primary School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Boarshaw Community Primary School have?

Boarshaw Community Primary School has 446 pupils on roll.

What age range does Boarshaw Community Primary School cover?

Boarshaw Community Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 56% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Boarshaw Community Primary School?

Boarshaw Community Primary School is at Stanycliffe Lane, Middleton, Stanycliffe Lane Middleton Manchester, Manchester, M24 2PB.