St Wilfrid's CofE Aided Primary School Northenden

St Wilfrid’s CofE Aided Primary School Northenden continues to demonstrate good performance since its last inspection in March 2019. The school fosters a supportive community environment where pupils feel happy and engaged in their learning. Notable strengths include the strong relationships between staff and pupils, effective leadership, and a well-structured curriculum that prioritizes communication and language development, particularly in early years. The dedication to pupil well-being, leadership roles, and a range of extracurricular activities contribute positively to the school culture.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy strong relationships with staff.
• The curriculum is well-structured and effective in early years.
• High-quality phonics programme supports early reading success.
• Strong focus on personal, social, health and economic education.
• Variety of extracurricular activities helps develop pupil talents.
• The school effectively supports pupils with SEND.

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers do not check pupils' understanding carefully enough, leading to persistent misconceptions.

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 Wilfrid's CofE Aided Primary School Northenden attended 94.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.3% 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, 1.2% of pupils at St Wilfrid's CofE Aided Primary School Northenden 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 Wilfrid's CofE Aided Primary School Northenden had 17.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.6% 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, 16.5% of pupils at St Wilfrid's CofE Aided Primary School Northenden were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.4% 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 St Wilfrid's CofE Aided Primary School Northenden received £6,830 and spent £6,852 for each of its 334 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £416,000 (£1,247 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of Thrive Church of England Academy Trust Ltd, income was £5,950 and spending £5,888 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

St Wilfrid's CofE Aided Primary School Northenden is part of Thrive Church of England Academy Trust Ltd, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• Didsbury CofE Primary School Manchester
• West Didsbury CE Primary School Manchester
• St Elisabeth's Church of England Primary Stockport
• St Luke's CofE Primary School Salford

What is St Wilfrid's CofE Aided Primary School Northenden's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Wilfrid's CofE Aided Primary School Northenden is Good, from an inspection in July 2024.

When was St Wilfrid's CofE Aided Primary School Northenden last inspected by Ofsted?

St Wilfrid's CofE Aided Primary School Northenden was last inspected in July 2024.

How many pupils does St Wilfrid's CofE Aided Primary School Northenden have?

St Wilfrid's CofE Aided Primary School Northenden has 340 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Wilfrid's CofE Aided Primary School Northenden cover?

St Wilfrid's CofE Aided Primary School Northenden for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Wilfrid's CofE Aided Primary School Northenden's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 43% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Wilfrid's CofE Aided Primary School Northenden?

St Wilfrid's CofE Aided Primary School Northenden is at Patterdale Road, Northenden, Manchester, M22 4NR.