The Friars Primary School
Cannon Street, Salford, M3 7EU
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Michael Earnshaw
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Salford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 450
- Pupils on roll
- 362
- URN
- 105896
- Local authority
- Salford
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01615667519
About this school
The Friars Primary School is a community primary school in Salford. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 362 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Friars 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. 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 | 33 | 57 | 50 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 45% | 51% | 48% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 2% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 58% | 63% | 64% |
| Expected standard in maths | 70% | 65% | 72% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 67% | 72% | 72% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 103.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.60 | - | - |
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 The Friars 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 | Salford average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 45% | 53.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 51% | 58.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 48% | 58.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 391 |
| 2023/24 | 420 |
| 2024/25 | 394 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Friars Primary School compares
The Friars Primary School ranked 55th of 69 primary schools in Salford for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 19% 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 | 48% | 5.4% | 44.3% | 362 | — |
| The Cathedral School of St Peter and St John RC Primary | 10% | 5.1% | 31.6% | 213 | 0.1 miles |
| River View Community Primary School | 48% | 5.7% | 45.3% | 521 | 0.4 miles |
| St Philip's CofE Primary School | 50% | 5.1% | 33.8% | 221 | 0.5 miles |
| Cheetwood Primary School | 43% | 5.6% | 52.6% | 197 | 0.6 miles |
| Unity Community Primary | 47% | 5.6% | 51.7% | 363 | 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)
- 44.27%
- English as an additional language
- 60.4%
- Overall absence
- 5.42%
- Persistent absence
- 15.83%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Cathedral School of St Peter and St John RC Primary0.1 miles
Primary · Salford
-
River View Community Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Salford
-
St Philip's CofE Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Salford
-
Cheetwood Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
Unity Community Primary0.9 miles
Primary · Manchester
Other schools in Salford
The Friars Primary School ranks 22nd of the 29 ranked primary schools in Salford.
- Brentnall Academy Primary
- Broughton Jewish Cassel Fox Primary School Primary
- Dukesgate Academy Primary
- Fiddlers Lane Community Primary School Primary
- Holy Family VA RC Primary School Primary
- Lark Hill Community Primary School Primary
- Light Oaks Infant School Primary
- Light Oaks Junior School Primary
- Lower Kersal Community Primary School Primary
- Marlborough Road Academy Primary
- Monton Green Primary School Primary
- Moss Valley Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The Friars Primary School teach?
- The Friars Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Salford.
- Who is the headteacher of The Friars Primary School?
- The headteacher of The Friars Primary School is Mr Michael Earnshaw, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Friars Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Friars 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 The Friars Primary School?
- The Friars Primary School has 362 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is The Friars Primary School full?
- The Friars Primary School has capacity for 450 pupils and 362 on roll (80%), 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 The Friars Primary School a faith school?
- No. The Friars Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does The Friars Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records The Friars Primary School as having nursery classes.
- What SEN provision does The Friars Primary School have?
- The schools register lists The Friars Primary School's special educational needs provision as: MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Friars Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 45% in 2022/23 and 48% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Friars Primary School compare with other schools in Salford?
- The Friars Primary School ranked 55th of 69 primary schools in Salford for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 19% 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 The Friars Primary School's absence rate?
- The Friars 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 The Friars Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Friars 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.