Lilycroft Primary School

Lilycroft Primary School is a warm, welcoming and diverse community school that is performing well overall. Inspectors found good provision across the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years. Pupils are happy and safe, parents speak positively about the school, and recent leadership changes and curriculum overhaul have improved learning. This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the school is part of The Priestley Academy Trust. The school's strengths include a strong phonics and reading programme, an ambitious curriculum with a clear focus on oracy and vocabulary, effective inclusion of pupils with SEND, calm behaviour, strong personal development, and highly effective work on attendance. Staff workload and well-being are carefully considered, governance is committed and knowledgeable, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main area for improvement is variation in how well some wider curriculum subjects are implemented. Pupils do not learn as well in some subjects as in others, and the school should continue to strengthen subject knowledge and leadership so that pupils learn well across the full curriculum.

Strengths

• Strong, well-trained phonics teaching helps pupils become fluent readers quickly, with effective catch-up support.
• An ambitious curriculum and a focus on oracy and subject-specific vocabulary help pupils develop wide-ranging knowledge.
• Pupils with SEND are included fully in school life, and staff are well supported to meet their additional needs.
• Behaviour in lessons is calm, pupils are attentive and respectful, and staff apply the positive behaviour approach consistently.
• Personal development is a strength, with pupils showing a mature understanding of fundamental British values and taking pride in leadership roles.
• Attendance is a key priority, and the school is highly effective in challenging and supporting pupils whose attendance needs to improve.
• Staff workload and well-being are carefully considered, with training and trust networking supporting professional development.
• Governors fulfil their statutory duties and show strong knowledge of the school and its community.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Pupils enjoy a wide range of clubs and meaningful opportunities that develop their character.

Areas for Improvement

• Implementation of some wider curriculum subjects varies, so pupils do not learn as well in every subject as they do in others.
• Subject knowledge and subject leadership need further strengthening across the wider 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 Lilycroft Primary School attended 93.8% 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, 1.5% of pupils at Lilycroft 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 Lilycroft Primary School had 18.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.9% 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, 19.6% of pupils at Lilycroft Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.0% 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 Lilycroft Primary School received £6,810 and spent £6,771 for each of its 397 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £447,000 (£1,126 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of The Priestley Academy Trust, income was £7,302 and spending £7,124 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 Bradford · Bradford local authority: places and applications

Lilycroft Primary School is part of The Priestley Academy Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Miriam Lord Primary School Bradford
• Westbourne Primary School Bradford
• Margaret McMillan Primary School Bradford
• Atlas Community Primary School Bradford
• Green Lane Primary School Bradford

What is Lilycroft Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lilycroft Primary School is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Lilycroft Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Lilycroft Primary School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Lilycroft Primary School have?

Lilycroft Primary School has 367 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lilycroft Primary School cover?

Lilycroft Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

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

Where is Lilycroft Primary School?

Lilycroft Primary School is at Lilycroft Road, Manningham, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD9 5AD.