St Charles' RC Primary School

About St Charles' RC Primary School

St Charles' RC Primary School is a state-funded Roman Catholic primary in Salford, one of 75 schools of its type in the local authority. It ranks 20th in Salford, placing it comfortably in the top third of primary schools in the area. The three highest-ranked peers locally are Broadoak Primary School, St Mary's RC Primary School, and St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School, all of which sit above St Charles' in the league table. The nearest school rated Outstanding by Ofsted is The Deans Primary School, just 0.9 km away. St Charles' itself holds a Good rating from its most recent graded inspection in 2019, and an ungraded inspection in February 2024 confirmed the school remains Good. Its early years provision, however, was judged Outstanding in that same 2019 inspection, a notable strength for families with younger children. The school is led by headteacher Nicola Drake and has a capacity of 250 pupils, with 229 currently on roll.

In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 66% of pupils at St Charles' reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That is above the Salford local authority average of 61%, and places the school in the top 50% nationally. In reading, 81% met the expected standard and 31% reached the higher standard; in maths, 84% met the expected standard and 25% reached the higher standard. Writing saw 75% at the expected standard but no pupils at the higher standard. Average scores were 106 in reading and 105 in maths, both slightly above the national average of 100. The school does not publish progress scores for any of the three subjects, so it is not possible to say how much value it adds relative to pupils' starting points. There is no sixth form, as this is a primary school, and no boarding provision. The school's nursery provision means children can join from age three.

The school is oversubscribed for 2025/26 reception places, with 46 applications for 25 places and 24 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.84. Facilities include a dining hall, sports hall, library, music rooms, outdoor playground, chapel, and a Forest School. Sports on offer include tennis, rounders, cricket, netball, cross country, athletics and football, and clubs range from gardening and coding to eco club and chess. The school has a broad SEND offer, with provisions for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. This is a school that will particularly suit Catholic families in Salford who value a strong early years start and a Good-rated primary with above-average KS2 outcomes, though those seeking an Outstanding overall rating may want to consider The Deans Primary School nearby.

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