Co-op Academy New Islington

Co-op Academy New Islington is a good school overall, with good judgements across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Pupils are extremely proud of their school, feel well supported, and are described as confident, polite, inclusive and enthusiastic learners. The school has a clear, ambitious curriculum that starts in the early years and is designed to help pupils, including those who join later, build and reconnect knowledge securely. Reading is a high priority, behaviour expectations are high, and pupils benefit from a broad personal development offer including clubs, trips, outdoor learning and community projects. Safeguarding is effective, and staff wellbeing and trust/governance arrangements are positive. The main areas for improvement relate to consistency in teaching and feedback. Provisional 2024 writing outcomes were significantly below the national average, and although the school has revised its writing approach, feedback does not always have the intended impact. Occasionally, errors in spelling, punctuation and handwriting are overlooked, meaning a small number of pupils and early years children carry gaps in foundational writing knowledge. In addition, support approaches for some early readers and pupils with SEND sometimes vary in accuracy, and a few staff do not have secure knowledge of how to adapt learning for pupils with SEND. The school is asked to develop staff expertise and ensure feedback addresses foundational errors so that all pupils learn consistently well. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and the first section 5 inspection since it opened as Co-op Academy New Islington following conversion from New Islington Free School, which had previously been judged outstanding. The headteacher took up the role in summer 2024, and the school is part of The Co-operative Academies Trust. Under the current framework, no overall effectiveness grade was given.

Strengths

• Pupils are extremely proud of their school and value strong relationships with adults
• Pupils are confident, polite, respectful and considerate of others
• The school has a clear and ambitious curriculum that starts in the early years
• The curriculum is designed to help pupils who join later recap and connect prior knowledge
• Reading has a high priority, with phonics taught from Reception and books matched to pupils’ reading knowledge
• Pupils who fall behind in reading receive support to catch up
• Behaviour expectations are high and pupils conduct themselves maturely and sensibly
• Older pupils act as mature and helpful role models for younger pupils
• The school offers a broad range of clubs, trips and outdoor learning opportunities
• Personal development is enhanced through community projects and learning about nature
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Staff appreciate strategies that support their wellbeing and minimise workload impact
• Trust and local governing body members are effective in their roles
• The school quickly and effectively identifies the needs of pupils with SEND

Areas for Improvement

• Provisional 2024 writing outcomes were significantly below the national average
• Feedback from staff does not always have the intended impact on pupils’ writing
• Errors in spelling, punctuation and handwriting are occasionally overlooked
• A small number of pupils and early years children carry gaps in foundational writing knowledge
• Support approaches for some early readers and pupils with SEND vary in accuracy
• Some staff do not have secure knowledge of how to adapt learning for pupils with SEND
• The school should develop staff expertise to support learners consistently and effectively
• The school should ensure feedback addresses errors in foundational knowledge across the curriculum

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 Co-op Academy New Islington attended 94.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.8% 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, 2.1% of pupils at Co-op Academy New Islington 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 Co-op Academy New Islington had 22.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.7% 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, 12.0% of pupils at Co-op Academy New Islington were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.7% 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 Co-op Academy New Islington received £6,845 and spent £7,328 for each of its 381 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £84,000 (£220 per pupil).

Across all 40 schools of The Co-Operative Academies Trust, income was £9,737 and spending £9,467 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.

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

Co-op Academy New Islington is part of The Co-Operative Academies Trust, which runs 40 schools. The nearest others:

• Co-op Academy Medlock Manchester
• Connell Co-Op College Manchester
• Co-op Academy Belle Vue Manchester
• Co-op Academy Broadhurst Manchester
• Co-op Academy Manchester Manchester
• Co-op Academy North Manchester Manchester
• Co-op Academy Failsworth Manchester
• Co-op Academy Swinton Manchester
• Co-op Academy Walkden Manchester
• Co-op Academy Strinesdale Oldham

What is Co-op Academy New Islington's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Co-op Academy New Islington is Good, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was Co-op Academy New Islington last inspected by Ofsted?

Co-op Academy New Islington was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does Co-op Academy New Islington have?

Co-op Academy New Islington has 376 pupils on roll.

What age range does Co-op Academy New Islington cover?

Co-op Academy New Islington for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Co-op Academy New Islington's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Co-op Academy New Islington?

Co-op Academy New Islington is at 10 Hugh Oldham Way, New Islington Marina, Ancoats, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M4 6EY.