Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School

Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School continues to demonstrate good performance, maintaining high expectations for both pupil behavior and achievement. The school has effectively fostered a positive atmosphere where pupils feel proud to attend, actively engage, and support one another. While most students, including those with SEND, achieve well due to a broad and ambitious curriculum, there are areas where clarity on subject content and assessment practices could be refined to enhance learning outcomes further. Overall, the school excels in fostering pupils' emotional well-being, with initiatives like the ‘Talk Team’ and additional activities that enhance their sense of community and social responsibility, such as engaging in local issues and elections. Although the school has very effective reading and behavior management strategies, areas that require improvement include a few subjects where the essential knowledge is insufficiently defined and assessment strategies need further refinement. This inspection marks the first ungraded review since the school was rated good in February 2018.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve well, including those with SEND.
• High expectations for behavior and achievement shared by leaders and staff.
• Effective emotional support structures, including the 'Talk Team'.
• Broad and ambitious curriculum from early years through key stage 1.
• Strong early reading support leading to enthusiastic readers in key stage 2.
• Active involvement of pupils in democratic processes within the school.
• Positive relationships fostered across a diverse community.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, clarity on essential knowledge is lacking.
• Assessment strategies in select subjects do not adequately check pupil understanding.

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 Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School attended 94.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.4% 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, 2.8% of pupils at Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic 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 Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School had 18.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.7% 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, 12.4% of pupils at Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.4% 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 2024–25 Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School received £7,538 and spent £7,527 for each of its 361 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £117,000 (-£325 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of Corpus Christi Catholic Academy Trust, income was £7,953 and spending £8,018 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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

Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School is part of Corpus Christi Catholic Academy Trust, which runs 15 schools. The nearest others:

• St Elizabeth's Catholic Primary School Manchester
• Saint Paul's Catholic High School Manchester
• St Anthony's Catholic Primary School Manchester
• St. Aidan's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Manchester
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Sale
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Stockport
• St Philip's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Stockport
• St Christopher's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Stockport
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, a Voluntary Academy Manchester
• St. Paul's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Hyde

What is Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School is Good, from an inspection in July 2023.

When was Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School was last inspected in July 2023.

How many pupils does Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School have?

Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School has 370 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School cover?

Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 48% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School?

Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School is at Woodhouse Lane, Benchill, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M22 9NW.