Unsworth Primary School

About Unsworth Primary School

Unsworth Primary School holds a Good rating from Ofsted following its most recent graded inspection in 2017, and an ungraded visit in 2023 confirmed the school 'remains Good'. The inspection breakdown reveals real strengths: leadership and management were judged Outstanding, and early years provision was rated Outstanding. The most telling academic metric is the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined — 77 per cent. That is well above the Bury local authority average of 64 per cent for primary schools, and it places Unsworth 8th out of 46 primaries in the borough, comfortably in the top 25 per cent nationally. The school also performs strongly in individual subjects: 87 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in maths, and 84 per cent in writing. At the higher standard, 26 per cent achieved greater depth in maths, though the combined higher figure drops to 6 per cent, suggesting the school is particularly effective at getting pupils to a solid baseline.

Average scaled scores back up the picture: 106 in maths and 105 in reading, both above the national benchmark of 100. The school does not publish progress scores for reading, writing or maths, so it is harder to judge how much value it adds for individual pupils, but the attainment data is consistent and strong. With 214 pupils on roll against a capacity of 210, the school is effectively full, and it was oversubscribed for 2025/26 entry: 87 applications for 33 places, with 31 offers going to first-preference families. That works out at 2.64 applications per place, a clear sign of local demand. The school has a nursery provision, so families can join from age three, and 14.5 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals, slightly below the national average.

Facilities include a library, playing fields, a gymnasium, a forest school area, a sensory room and even a chapel. Sports on offer are cross country, netball, football and cricket, while clubs include gardening, art and film club. The school has a dedicated SEN unit and provisions for specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. This is a well-regarded, oversubscribed primary in Bury that delivers above-average outcomes, particularly in maths, and offers strong early years and leadership. It will suit families who want a solid academic foundation with good pastoral and SEND support, and who are prepared to compete for a place.

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