St Paul's CofE Primary School
Heathside Grove, Walkden, Manchester, M28 3NZ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Acting Headteacher
- Mrs Joanne Rowley
- Diocese
- Diocese of Manchester
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Bolton South and Walkden
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 355
- URN
- 105937
- Local authority
- Salford
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01618415151
About this school
St Paul's CofE Primary School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Manchester. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 355 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Paul's CofE 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person 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
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- 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 | 45 | 57 | 55 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 71% | 74% | 76% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 9% | 7% | 11% |
| Expected standard in reading | 82% | 95% | 84% |
| Expected standard in maths | 84% | 86% | 87% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 98% | 89% | 87% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 107.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 106.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.80 | - | - |
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 St Paul's CofE 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 | 71% | 53.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 74% | 58.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 76% | 58.4% | 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 | 4.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 350 |
| 2023/24 | 382 |
| 2024/25 | 367 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Paul's CofE Primary School compares
St Paul's CofE Primary School ranked 12th of 69 primary schools in Salford for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 80% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 64% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 76% | 4.8% | 44.3% | 355 | — |
| Christ The King RC Primary School | 89% | 3.8% | 16.3% | 234 | 0.3 miles |
| St Paul's CofE Primary School | 56% | 4.5% | 15.8% | 226 | 0.4 miles |
| Mesne Lea Primary School | 56% | 5.6% | 27.6% | 441 | 0.7 miles |
| North Walkden Primary School | 34% | 4.6% | 47.3% | 220 | 0.7 miles |
| St Edmund's RC Primary School | 66% | 4.6% | 41.2% | 339 | 0.7 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 44.28%
- English as an additional language
- 28.3%
- Overall absence
- 4.84%
- Persistent absence
- 12.02%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Christ The King RC Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
St Paul's CofE Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
Mesne Lea Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
North Walkden Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
St Edmund's RC Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Manchester
Other schools in Manchester
St Paul's CofE Primary School ranks 30th 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 St Paul's CofE Primary School teach?
- St Paul's CofE Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Manchester.
- Who is the acting headteacher of St Paul's CofE Primary School?
- The acting headteacher of St Paul's CofE Primary School is Mrs Joanne Rowley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Paul's CofE Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Paul's CofE 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 St Paul's CofE Primary School?
- St Paul's CofE Primary School has 355 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Paul's CofE Primary School full?
- St Paul's CofE Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 355 on roll (85%), 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 St Paul's CofE Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Paul's CofE Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Manchester.
- Does St Paul's CofE Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Paul's CofE Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have St Paul's CofE Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 71% in 2022/23 and 76% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Paul's CofE Primary School compare with other schools in Salford?
- St Paul's CofE Primary School ranked 12th of 69 primary schools in Salford for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 80% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 64% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Paul's CofE Primary School's absence rate?
- St Paul's CofE Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Paul's CofE Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Paul's CofE 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.