Crab Lane Primary School
Crab Lane, Higher Blackley, Manchester, M9 8NB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Philip Hughes
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Federation
- North Manchester Primary Federation
- Constituency
- Blackley and Middleton South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 472
- Pupils on roll
- 412
- URN
- 105465
- Local authority
- Manchester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01617402851
About this school
Crab Lane Primary School is a community primary school in Manchester. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 412 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Crab Lane Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 57 | 58 | 50 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 46% | 48% | 56% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 2% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 58% | 64% | 74% |
| Expected standard in maths | 65% | 59% | 76% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 67% | 69% | 78% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 102.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 101.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.80 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Crab Lane Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Manchester average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 46% | 52.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 48% | 54.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 56% | 57.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 448 |
| 2023/24 | 427 |
| 2024/25 | 425 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Crab Lane Primary School compares
Crab Lane Primary School ranked 79th of 125 primary schools in Manchester for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 31% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 56% | 5.4% | 61.6% | 412 | — |
| St Clare's RC Primary School | 55% | 5.3% | 46.1% | 442 | 0.4 miles |
| Bowker Vale Primary School | 61% | 6.4% | 48.5% | 439 | 0.5 miles |
| Pike Fold Primary School | 57% | 5.1% | 43.3% | 435 | 0.6 miles |
| E-ACT Blackley Academy | 62% | 4.9% | 62.7% | 441 | 0.7 miles |
| Crumpsall Lane Primary School | 60% | 5.4% | 46% | 418 | 0.9 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 61.6%
- English as an additional language
- 35.8%
- Overall absence
- 5.43%
- Persistent absence
- 17.46%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Clare's RC Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
Bowker Vale Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
Pike Fold Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
E-ACT Blackley Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
Crumpsall Lane Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Manchester
Other schools in Manchester
Crab Lane Primary School ranks 176th of the 252 ranked primary schools in Manchester.
- Abbey Hey Primary Academy Primary
- Abbott Community Primary School Primary
- Acacias Community Primary School Primary
- Acre Hall Primary School Primary
- Aldwyn Primary School Primary
- Alkrington Primary School Primary
- All Saints C of E Primary School Primary
- All Saints Church of England Primary School, Stand Primary
- All Saints Primary School Primary
- Alma Park Primary School Primary
- Armitage CofE Primary School Primary
- Ashbury Meadow Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Crab Lane Primary School teach?
- Crab Lane Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Manchester.
- Who is the headteacher of Crab Lane Primary School?
- The headteacher of Crab Lane Primary School is Mr Philip Hughes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Crab Lane Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Crab Lane Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Crab Lane Primary School?
- Crab Lane Primary School has 412 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Crab Lane Primary School full?
- Crab Lane Primary School has capacity for 472 pupils and 412 on roll (87%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Crab Lane Primary School a faith school?
- No. Crab Lane Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Crab Lane Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Crab Lane Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is Crab Lane Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Crab Lane Primary School is part of the North Manchester Primary Federation federation. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Crab Lane Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 46% in 2022/23 and 56% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Crab Lane Primary School compare with other schools in Manchester?
- Crab Lane Primary School ranked 79th of 125 primary schools in Manchester for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 31% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Crab Lane Primary School's absence rate?
- Crab Lane Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Crab Lane Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Crab Lane Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.