Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy

Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy is a small primary academy within the Cidari Multi Academy Trust. Inspectors found much to praise: attendance and behaviour are strong, and the personal development and wellbeing programme is highly effective. Pupils are polite, feel safe, behave well, attend regularly, and benefit from an extensive range of clubs, trips and responsibilities. Early years provision gives children a positive start, and the curriculum is ambitious with secure teaching, though achievement and curriculum/teaching are at the expected standard. However, two areas need attention. Inclusion is not secure enough: leaders do not identify some pupils with SEND effectively, plans are not consistently specific, parents are not well informed about progress, and oversight of support for vulnerable pupils is not robust. Leadership and governance also need attention because leaders do not have a clear enough overview in some areas, do not address weaknesses urgently enough, and governance challenge is not focused sharply enough on the school's weaknesses. Safeguarding standards are met, but oversight of safeguarding information is not always precise or timely. Overall, this is a caring school with strong pastoral and behavioural foundations and many positive experiences for pupils, but it must improve its oversight and SEND/inclusion systems so that all pupils, including those who struggle with reading and writing, receive timely and effective support.

Strengths

• Attendance is high for all groups and persistent absence is low.
• Pupils behave respectfully and contribute to a very welcoming school environment.
• Pupils feel safe and say bullying is uncommon.
• The personal development and wellbeing programme is highly effective.
• Pupils access an extensive range of clubs, visits, performances and residential trips.
• Disadvantaged pupils, pupils with SEND and those known to social care are fully included in wider opportunities.
• Early years provision gives children a positive start and prioritises their wellbeing.
• The curriculum is ambitious and teachers have secure subject knowledge.
• Staff feel valued and respected, and leaders take workload and wellbeing seriously.
• Governance is committed, meets statutory duties and parents are highly supportive.

Areas for Improvement

• Leaders do not identify some pupils with SEND effectively, and some are not on the SEND register.
• Plans for pupils with SEND are not consistently specific about needs and support.
• Parents and carers are not as well informed as they should be about their child's achievement.
• Oversight of support for vulnerable pupils, including those known to social care, is not robust enough.
• Leaders' oversight of safeguarding is not precise enough, so information is not always checked well.
• Leaders do not have a clear enough overview in some areas and do not address weaknesses urgently enough.
• Governance challenge is not focused well enough on the areas where the school has weaknesses.
• A small number of pupils at the early stages of reading and writing do not get sufficient practice to become fluent.
• Pupils' recall of learning from some time ago is less detailed.
• High-quality interactions between staff and children in early years are still being developed.

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 Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy attended 96.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.6% 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 Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy 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 Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy had 16.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.7% 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, 7.2% of pupils at Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.2% 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 Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy received £6,412 and spent £7,842 for each of its 143 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £266,000 (-£1,863 per pupil).

Across all 15 schools of Cidari Education Limited, income was £8,446 and spending £8,235 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 Wigan · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy is part of Cidari Education Limited, which runs 15 schools. The nearest others:

• St Matthew's Church of England Primary Academy Preston
• Darwen, St Barnabas CofE Primary Academy Darwen
• Warton St Paul's Church of England Primary Academy Preston
• Darwen St James CofE Primary Academy Darwen
• St Aidan's Primary School - A Church of England Academy Blackburn
• St Luke and St Philips Church of England Primary School Blackburn
• St Silas's CofE Primary School Blackburn
• Knuzden St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy Blackburn
• St George's School A Church of England Academy Blackpool
• Baines' Endowed Church of England Primary Academy Blackpool

What is Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy have?

Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy has 138 pupils on roll.

What age range does Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy cover?

Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy?

Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy is at Finch Lane, Appley Bridge, Wigan, Lancashire, WN6 9DT.