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St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

Primary Ages 3-11 202 pupils Manchester
Ofsted: Needs attention
All schools in Manchester

St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is an academy sponsor led in Manchester for pupils aged 3 to 11. It has a Roman Catholic religious character. It has 202 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in March 2026. In 2025, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Ofsted inspection: March 2026. KS2 results: 2025.

Type Primary / Academy sponsor led
Age Range 3-11
Religion Roman Catholic
Address Ribble Drive
Whitefield
Manchester
Lancashire
M45 8NJ
Phone 01617666628
Reference Number 149679

General Makeup

Number of pupils 202
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 47.52%
Girls: 52.48%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 26.1%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 21.3%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 25.3
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 24.3
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 25.8

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 10 13 23
2 13 10 23
3 14 12 26
4 12 15 27
5 15 16 31
6 8 11 19

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 66.8%
African 8.4%
White, Other 6.4%
Indian 4.5%
Mixed, Other 2.5%
Pakistani 2%
White & Black (African) 1.5%
White & Black (Caribbean) 1%
Asian, Other 1%
White & Asian 0.5%

St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School has performed well in several aspects, showing a strong standard of education and personal development for its pupils. The school has successfully established a positive safeguarding culture, and pupils demonstrate respect for diverse values and engagement in community activities. With a focus on inclusive practices, the school supports disadvantaged students and those with special educational needs effectively, leading to commendable academic outcomes that are in line with national expectations. However, variability in early years delivery and the depth of learning in some subjects highlight areas needing attention, as leaders work to consistently improve the educational experience for all students.

Overall Ofsted Rating Needs attention
 >  Leadership & Governance Expected standard
 >  Personal Development & Wellbeing Strong standard
 >  Achievement Expected standard
 >  Attendance & Behaviour Expected standard
 >  Curriculum & Teaching Expected standard
 >  Inclusion Expected standard
 >  Early Years Needs attention
Last Report Date 20 Jan 2026
Date Report
20 Jan 2026 School inspection

Strengths

  • Effective safeguarding measures creating a safe environment for pupils.
  • Strong personal development programs enabling students to flourish.
  • Ambitious curriculum with clear expectations for pupil learning.
  • Consistent support for disadvantaged pupils leading to good outcomes.
  • Positive pupil attitudes towards learning and school participation.

Areas for Improvement

  • Inconsistencies in early years curriculum delivery affecting children's vocabulary development.
  • Need for more opportunities to deepen learning across subjects.
  • Quality of interactions in early years varies, impacting some children's learning experience.

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 58%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 4%

Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Subject School Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 103
Maths 105

How many students meet the standards

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Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

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Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

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Reception admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 12 1
Third Preference 14 0
From another Local Authority 1 0

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy had 175 pupils for 210 places. 35 places (16.7%) were unfilled.

Pupils and places

Reception intake in the “Whitefield and Unsworth Primary” planning area

Bury counted 326 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 252 in 2029–30, down 23%.

202320242025
Places 210210210
Pupils 175171175
Unfilled 16.7%18.6%16.7%

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 Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy attended 94.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.1% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

202320242025
Authorised absence 4.4%4.1%3.7%
Unauthorised absence 1.3%1.0%1.3%
Severely absent pupils 0.0%0.6%0.6%

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, 1.0% of pupils at St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

20242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 2.01.4
Permanent exclusions 00

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 Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy had 19.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.4% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

202420252026
Pupils per adult 8.710.010.2
Teachers who left state teaching 9.1%9.2%–
Teachers who took any sick leave 91.7%46.2%–
Sick days per teacher 10.47.2–

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, 11.4% of pupils at St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Speech, language and communication needs 8 4
Specific learning difficulty 9 1
Social, emotional and mental health 4 1
Hearing impairment 2 0
Autistic spectrum disorder 0 1
Down's syndrome 0 1

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 Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy received £6,823 and spent £8,053 for each of its 206 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £442,000 (-£2,149 per pupil).

Across all 22 schools of St Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Academy Trust, income was £6,697 and spending £6,817 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

20242025
Revenue reserve -£257,000-£442,000
per pupil -£1,324-£2,149
In-year balance -£273,000-£253,000
per pupil -£1,405-£1,230

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.

Name Distance
Ribble Drive Community Primary School
Ribble Drive, Whitefield, Whitefield, Manchester, M45 8TD
0.14 miles
Whitefield Community Primary School
Victoria Avenue, Whitefield, Manchester, M45 6DP
0.35 miles
Unsworth Primary School
Blackley Close, Unsworth, Bury, Lancashire, BL9 8LY
0.47 miles
All Saints Church of England Primary School, Stand
Rufford Drive, Whitefield, Manchester, M45 8PL
0.5 miles
Mersey Drive Community Primary School
Mersey Drive, Whitefield, Manchester, M45 8LN
0.53 miles
St Margaret's Church of England Primary School
Heywood Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 2BW
0.69 miles
Bury and Whitefield Jewish Primary School
Parr Lane, Unsworth, Bury, Lancashire, BL9 8JT
0.69 miles
Higher Lane Primary School
Egerton Road, Whitefield, Manchester, M45 7EX
0.71 miles
St Bernadette's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy
Abingdon Avenue, Whitefield, Manchester, Lancashire, M45 8PT
0.76 miles
Heaton Park Primary School
Cuckoo Lane, Whitefield, Manchester, M45 6TE
0.77 miles
Sunny Bank Primary School
Hathaway Road, Bury, Lancashire, BL9 8EQ
0.86 miles
Our Lady of Grace RC Primary School
Highfield Road, Prestwich, Manchester, Lancashire, M25 3AS
0.89 miles
St Mary's Church of England Aided Primary School, Prestwich
Rectory Lane, Prestwich, Manchester, Lancashire, M25 1BP
1.2 miles
Hollins Grundy Primary School
The Hags, Off Hollins Lane, Hollins, Bury, Lancashire, BL9 8AY
1.33 miles
Chapelfield Primary School
Clough Street, Radcliffe, Manchester, M26 1LH
1.53 miles
St Hilda's Church of England Primary School
Whittaker Lane, Prestwich, Manchester, Lancashire, M25 1HA
1.54 miles
Radcliffe Hall Church of England Methodist Primary School
Bury Street, Radcliffe, Manchester, M26 2GB
1.65 miles
Park View Primary School
Park View Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 1FA
1.68 miles
St John's Church of England Primary School, Radcliffe
Johnson Street, Radcliffe, Bury, M26 1AW
1.87 miles
Bowker Vale Primary School
Middleton Road, Higher Crumpsall, Manchester, Lancashire, M8 4NB
2 miles
Name Distance
Elms Bank
Ripon Avenue, Whitefield, Bury, Lancashire, M45 8PJ
0.64 miles
Parrenthorn High School
Heywood Road, Manchester, M25 2BW
0.8 miles
Brookhaven School
Parr Lane, Bury, Greater Manchester, BL9 8LP
0.82 miles
Philips High School
Higher Lane, Whitefield, Manchester, M45 7PH
0.85 miles
Unsworth Academy
Parr Lane, Bury, Lancashire, BL9 8LP
0.85 miles
Cloughside College
Bury New Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 3BL
1.07 miles
The Heys School
Heys Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 1JZ
1.09 miles
St Monica's RC High School, a Voluntary Academy
Bury Old Road, Prestwich, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M25 1JH
1.75 miles
Manchester Mesivta School
Beechwood, Charlton Avenue, Prestwich, Greater Manchester, M25 0PH
1.78 miles
Star Radcliffe Academy
Coney Green Way, Radcliffe, M26 2SZ
1.98 miles
Ahavas Torah Boys Academy
483 Bury New Road, Manchester, M7 3NJ
2.4 miles
Manchester Jewish School for Special Education
Manchester Jewish, Community Centre, Bury Old Road, Manchester, M7 4QY
2.44 miles
Edgar Wood Academy
Heywood Old Road, Heywood, OL10 2QN
2.46 miles
The Derby High School
Radcliffe Road, Redvales, Lancs, Lancashire, BL9 9NH
2.49 miles
Holy Cross College
169 Manchester Road, Bury, Greater Manchester, BL9 9BB
2.49 miles
Me'or High School
47 Singleton Road, Salford, M7 4NA
2.52 miles
Oholei Yosef Yitzchok Lubavitch Schools
460 Bury New Rd, Salford, Lancashire, Salford, Lancashire, M7 4LH
2.56 miles
Bury Church of England High School
Haslam Brow, Bury, Lancashire, BL9 0TS
2.61 miles
Meade Hill School
Chain Road, Higher Blackley, Manchester, Lancashire, M9 6GN
2.7 miles
Our Lady's RC High School
Alworth Road, Higher Blackley, Manchester, M9 0RP
2.7 miles

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

What is St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in March 2026.

When was St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy was last inspected in March 2026.

How many pupils does St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy have?

St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy has 202 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy cover?

St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy?

St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is at Ribble Drive, Whitefield, Manchester, Lancashire, M45 8NJ.

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