Sunny Bank Primary School

Sunny Bank Primary School is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating across all domains according to its latest inspection in June 2023. The school has created a positive and close-knit learning community, where pupils feel valued and have high expectations set by their teachers. With a broad and well-structured curriculum, pupils generally achieve well, and there is a strong focus on fostering a love for reading and personal development. The school also provides various extracurricular activities that enhance the pupils' experiences.

Strengths

• Pupils feel proud to attend and are happy in their learning environment.
• High expectations from staff lead to good pupil achievement.
• Strong focus on developing a broad and balanced curriculum.
• Effective identification and support for pupils with SEND.
• Well-designed personal development programme encourages responsibility.
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge and deliver the curriculum effectively.

Areas for Improvement

• Some subjects do not clearly build on previous learning effectively.
• Inconsistent delivery of the phonics programme affects some pupils' reading progress.

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 Sunny Bank Primary School attended 96.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.9% 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 Sunny Bank 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 Sunny Bank Primary School had 24.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 6.0% of pupils at Sunny Bank Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.1% 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 Sunny Bank Primary School received £6,722 and spent £7,098 for each of its 216 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £56,000 (£261 per pupil).

Across all 4 schools of Vision Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,729 and spending £7,658 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 Bury · Bury local authority: places and applications

Sunny Bank Primary School is part of Vision Multi Academy Trust, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• Higher Lane Primary School Manchester
• Parrenthorn High School Manchester
• East Ward Community Primary School Bury
• Peel Brow School Bury

What is Sunny Bank Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sunny Bank Primary School is Good, from an inspection in August 2023.

When was Sunny Bank Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Sunny Bank Primary School was last inspected in August 2023.

How many pupils does Sunny Bank Primary School have?

Sunny Bank Primary School has 215 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sunny Bank Primary School cover?

Sunny Bank Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

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

In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Sunny Bank Primary School?

Sunny Bank Primary School is at Hathaway Road, Bury, Lancashire, BL9 8EQ.