St Paul's CofE Primary School

St Paul's CofE Primary School is a smaller-than-average Church of England primary in Salford with above-average levels of disadvantage and high pupil mobility. Inspectors found the school performing well overall: inclusion is judged at the strong standard, most other areas meet expected standards, and safeguarding requirements are met. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils, are well supported, behave well, and leave Year 6 prepared for secondary school; disadvantaged pupils often outperform their peers nationally in combined reading, writing and mathematics. Leaders have a clear understanding of the school, a broad and consistent curriculum, and strong pastoral and enrichment provision. Personal development is a particular strength, with pupils taking part in a wide range of activities and learning about safety, diversity and responsibility. Early years is well designed, but leaders have identified that communication, language and vocabulary teaching needs to be more consistent. Published Year 1 phonics and Year 4 multiplication outcomes are below national averages, though inspectors note these do not reflect current pupils' secure skills. The main area requiring attention is attendance. Some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, do not attend as often as they should, and leaders should continue working with families to reduce term-time holidays. Overall, this is a school with strong inclusive practice, positive behaviour and effective leadership that is well placed to address the remaining attendance and early language priorities.

Strengths

• Inclusion is a strong standard, with high ambitions and effective support for pupils with additional needs.
• Staff quickly identify additional needs and work closely with parents and specialist services.
• Leaders use pupil premium funding effectively, and disadvantaged pupils often outperform their peers nationally.
• Pupils typically attain well in national tests at the end of Year 6 and are well prepared for secondary school.
• Pupils learn phonics quickly and read with increasing confidence and accuracy.
• Pupils write with fluency across the curriculum and use number skills to solve complex problems.
• Staff have the expertise to support pupils with SEND, including developing communication skills and adapting the learning environment.
• The curriculum is broad, consistent and reflects the local area, with trips and visitors bringing learning to life.
• Reading, handwriting and mathematics teaching have been strengthened, with regular opportunities to revisit learning.
• Early years provides a broad curriculum, happy and safe children, and a strong start in phonics, letter formation and mathematics.
• Leaders know the school's strengths and prioritise improvement effectively.
• Governance provides appropriate challenge and support and ensures additional funding is used effectively.
• Leaders promote staff wellbeing and workload, with protected time for professional learning.
• Personal development is coherent and extensive, with enrichment built into the school day for every pupil.
• Pupils learn about safety, healthy relationships, diversity and British values, and take on responsibilities in the community.
• Behaviour is positive, pupils enjoy school, and staff deal with bullying and low-level disruption quickly.
• Leaders have built strong, trusting relationships with parents and carers.

Areas for Improvement

• Attendance is not high enough for some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Leaders should continue working with families to raise attendance, particularly reducing term-time holidays.
• Early years staff need to consistently maximise high-quality interactions to deepen children's language and vocabulary.
• Published Year 1 phonics screening attainment is below the national average.
• Published Year 4 multiplication tables check attainment is below the national average.

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 St Paul's CofE Primary School attended 94.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.3% 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, 0.5% of pupils at St Paul's CofE 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 St Paul's CofE Primary School had 14.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.0% 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, 17.3% of pupils at St Paul's CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.6% 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 St Paul's CofE Primary School received £7,576 and spent £7,577 for each of its 191 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £60,000 (£316 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
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What is St Paul's CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Paul's CofE Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was St Paul's CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Paul's CofE Primary School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does St Paul's CofE Primary School have?

St Paul's CofE Primary School has 191 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Paul's CofE Primary School cover?

St Paul's CofE Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Paul's CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Paul's CofE Primary School?

St Paul's CofE Primary School is at Nevile Road, Salford, Greater Manchester, M7 3PT.