Summerseat Methodist Primary School

Summerseat Methodist Primary School is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating in key areas such as the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership, and management. Notably, the school excels in personal development, receiving an 'Outstanding' evaluation for its efforts in fostering students' character and community engagement. The inspection marks the school's first routine evaluation since its transition to an academy within the Epworth Education Trust, which has positively contributed to its operational improvements and support structures for both students and staff.

Strengths

• Pupils develop strong reading skills and reading is at the heart of the curriculum.
• The school provides impressive support for pupils’ wider development.
• Teachers are skilled at identifying the additional needs of pupils with SEND.
• Pupils exhibit high levels of respect and sensitivity towards their peers.
• Effective support and guidance for teachers ensures a well-delivered curriculum.
• The school engages well with stakeholders, ensuring parents feel informed.

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers do not check pupils’ understanding carefully enough.
• Gaps in pupils' knowledge are not always addressed swiftly enough.

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 Summerseat Methodist Primary School attended 93.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.0% 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, 1.1% of pupils at Summerseat Methodist 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 Summerseat Methodist Primary School had 15.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 33.3% 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, 26.3% of pupils at Summerseat Methodist Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 24.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 9 pupils.

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 Summerseat Methodist Primary School received £10,164 and spent £9,940 for each of its 91 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £77,000 (£851 per pupil).

Across all 11 schools of Epworth Education Trust, income was £7,330 and spending £7,127 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

Summerseat Methodist Primary School is part of Epworth Education Trust, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• Wesley Methodist Primary School Manchester
• Hey-with-Zion Primary School Oldham
• Leigh Westleigh Methodist Primary School Leigh
• Bedford Hall Methodist Primary School Leigh
• Rosehill Methodist Primary Academy Ashton-Under-Lyne
• Wheatley Lane Methodist Primary School Burnley
• Leyland Methodist Junior School Leyland
• Leyland Methodist Infant School Leyland
• Nutgrove Methodist Primary School St Helens
• Bakewell Methodist Academy Bakewell

What is Summerseat Methodist Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Summerseat Methodist Primary School is Good, from an inspection in December 2023.

When was Summerseat Methodist Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Summerseat Methodist Primary School was last inspected in December 2023.

How many pupils does Summerseat Methodist Primary School have?

Summerseat Methodist Primary School has 95 pupils on roll.

What age range does Summerseat Methodist Primary School cover?

Summerseat Methodist Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 31% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Summerseat Methodist Primary School?

Summerseat Methodist Primary School is at Rowlands Road, Summerseat, Bury, Lancashire, BL9 5NF.