The Willows Primary School
Tayfield Road, Woodhouse Park, Manchester, M22 1BQ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- CHILDREN OF SUCCESS SCHOOLS TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs S Spiteri
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- The Willows Primary School Manchester
- Constituency
- Wythenshawe and Sale East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 423
- Pupils on roll
- 407
- URN
- 139438
- Local authority
- Manchester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01614374444
About this school
The Willows Primary School is a primary academy in Manchester. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 407 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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
- 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 | 58 | 61 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 53% | 46% | 60% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 2% | 0% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 71% | 67% | 80% |
| Expected standard in maths | 71% | 56% | 68% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 76% | 62% | 77% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 102.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 100.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.40 | - | - |
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 Willows 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 | 53% | 52.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 46% | 54.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 60% | 57.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 442 |
| 2023/24 | 448 |
| 2024/25 | 429 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Willows Primary School compares
The Willows Primary School ranked 61st of 125 primary schools in Manchester for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 40% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 40% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 60% | 5.9% | 59.2% | 407 | — |
| St Anthony's Catholic Primary School | 49% | 5.3% | 34.8% | 665 | 0.3 miles |
| Ringway Primary School | 39% | 6.6% | 56.9% | 417 | 0.4 miles |
| Haveley Hey Community School | 59% | 9.3% | 73% | 413 | 0.7 miles |
| St Elizabeth's Catholic Primary School | 52% | 7.2% | 38.4% | 227 | 0.7 miles |
| St Peter's Catholic Primary School | 59% | 5.9% | 47.9% | 256 | 0.8 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)
- 59.23%
- English as an additional language
- 19.3%
- Overall absence
- 5.93%
- Persistent absence
- 14.59%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Anthony's Catholic Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
Ringway Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
Haveley Hey Community School0.7 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
St Elizabeth's Catholic Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
St Peter's Catholic Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Manchester
Other schools in Manchester
The Willows Primary School ranks 145th 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 year groups does The Willows Primary School teach?
- The Willows Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Manchester.
- Who is the headteacher of The Willows Primary School?
- The headteacher of The Willows Primary School is Mrs S Spiteri, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Willows Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Willows 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 big is The Willows Primary School?
- The Willows Primary School has 407 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is The Willows Primary School full?
- The Willows Primary School has capacity for 423 pupils and 407 on roll (96%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is The Willows Primary School a faith school?
- No. The Willows Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does The Willows Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records The Willows Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs The Willows Primary School?
- The Willows Primary School is part of CHILDREN OF SUCCESS SCHOOLS TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Willows Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 53% in 2022/23 and 60% 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 Willows Primary School rank locally?
- The Willows Primary School ranked 61st of 125 primary schools in Manchester for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 40% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 40% 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 Willows Primary School's absence rate?
- The Willows Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Willows Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Willows 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 1 July 2026.