Fulwood and Cadley Primary School

About Fulwood and Cadley Primary School

Fulwood and Cadley Primary School’s headline KS2 results sit below the Lancashire local authority average for primary schools. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined is 49%, compared with a LA average of 60%. That’s a gap of 11 percentage points, and it places the school in the bottom half of primary schools nationally, at the 80th percentile. Within Preston specifically, it ranks 31st out of 45 schools. The school’s ranking score of 49 puts it in the bottom 50 tier of its region. While these headline numbers are lower than the local norm, the picture is more mixed when you look at individual subjects. In maths, 66% of pupils met the expected standard, and the average scaled score was 102. Reading and writing both also saw 64% and 66% of pupils at expected levels respectively, with average reading and maths scores of 101 and 102. The proportion reaching the higher standard in any subject was low, with just 4% achieving higher in all three.

The school’s most recent graded Ofsted inspection took place in September 2011, where it was rated Good overall, with Good for leadership and management, and Good for early years provision. An ungraded inspection in January 2022 confirmed the school remains Good. The 2022 inspection did not re-grade individual categories, but the outcome suggests leadership has maintained standards. Progress scores are not available in the data, so it’s not possible to say how much value the school adds from pupils’ starting points. The school has 318 pupils on roll, just above its capacity of 315, and 25.6% are eligible for free school meals, which is above the national average and suggests a relatively high level of disadvantage. The school’s SEND provisions cover a broad range of needs, including specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate and severe learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, and hearing impairment.

Fulwood and Cadley is oversubscribed: for 43 places in the 2025/26 intake, there were 140 applications, an oversubscription ratio of 3.26. Only 28 first-preference offers were made from 29 first-preference applications, so getting a place is competitive. The school offers a good range of facilities including a library, sensory room, sports hall, ICT suite, art studios, and a chapel. Sports on offer include swimming, netball, cricket, tennis and athletics, and clubs range from science and coding to gardening and film club. For families considering this school, the key takeaway is that it is a Good-rated, oversubscribed community primary with strong SEND support and decent facilities, but its academic outcomes at KS2 are below the LA average. It may suit families who prioritise a broad range of extracurricular activities and a supportive environment for pupils with additional needs over top-tier exam results. The nearest Outstanding-rated primary is The Olive School, Preston, 1.1 km away.

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