Navigation Primary School

Navigation Primary School is a vibrant, inclusive and high-performing primary school where pupils feel safe, happy and eager to learn. Inspectors found behaviour and personal development to be exceptional, with pupils showing maturity, kindness and a strong understanding of equality, diversity, healthy living and staying safe online. The school has high expectations for all pupils, including those with SEND, and pupils respond well, achieving strongly across a well-crafted curriculum that begins in the early years. The school's strengths include a rich curriculum, strong reading provision, effective support for pupils with SEND and excellent extra-curricular opportunities, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. Staff are proud to work at the school, parents are supportive and governors challenge and support leaders effectively. Safeguarding arrangements are effective and attendance is improving through tenacious leadership and close work with families. There are two main areas for improvement. Writing accuracy is not consistently strong across the curriculum, with some pupils repeating errors in letter formation and transcription. In a couple of subjects, pupils also lack sufficient opportunities to retrieve and consolidate prior knowledge, which affects how well some remember important content over time. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and, as a graded inspection, no overall effectiveness grade was given.

Strengths

• Behaviour and attitudes are outstanding across the school.
• Personal development provision is exceptionally strong and enriching.
• Pupils feel safe, happy and eager to learn in a vibrant inclusive environment.
• High expectations for academic work and behaviour are well understood by pupils.
• Pupils with SEND access the same rich curriculum and achieve well.
• The curriculum is well crafted and begins effectively in the early years.
• Reading is a high priority, with strong phonics and support for pupils who struggle.
• Pupils benefit exceptionally well from extra-curricular opportunities, including disadvantaged pupils.
• Attendance is improving through strong leadership and work with families.
• Staff are proud, happy and well supported by leaders who consider workload and well-being.
• Governors work closely with leaders and hold them to account effectively.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Staff do not consistently apply high expectations for writing accuracy across the curriculum.
• Some pupils are prone to making and repeating errors in letter formation and transcription.
• In a couple of subjects, pupils lack sufficient opportunities to retrieve and consolidate prior knowledge.
• This affects how well some pupils remember important subject content over time.

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 Navigation Primary School attended 96.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.9% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Navigation 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 Navigation Primary School had 21.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 3.1% 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, 15.3% of pupils at Navigation Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.3% 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 Navigation Primary School received £6,136 and spent £6,244 for each of its 442 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £376,000 (£852 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 Altrincham · Trafford local authority: places and applications

What is Navigation Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Navigation Primary School is Good, from an inspection in April 2025.

When was Navigation Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Navigation Primary School was last inspected in April 2025.

How many pupils does Navigation Primary School have?

Navigation Primary School has 444 pupils on roll.

What age range does Navigation Primary School cover?

Navigation Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 72% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Navigation Primary School?

Navigation Primary School is at Hawarden Road, Altrincham, Cheshire, WA14 1NG.