Crab Lane Primary School, Manchester

Good
Primary
Community school
Mixed
Ages 311

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Very likely (~463m)Possible (~661m)Unlikely (~859m)Confidence: high

Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Mr Philip Hughes
Pupils:412 / 472 capacity
LA:Manchester
Phone:01617402851
Address:Crab Lane, Higher Blackley, Manchester, M9 8NB
Federation:North Manchester Primary Federation
Admissions:Not applicable
Status:open

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 2 years ago
-

Overall

Good

Quality of Education

Good

Behaviour & Attitudes

Good

Personal Development

Good

Leadership & Management

Good

Early Years

Inspected 29 October 2024View full report
URN:105465
UKPRN:10070084
Diocese:Not applicable
Constituency:Blackley and Middleton South
Urban/Rural:Urban: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

Crab Lane is led by ambitious leaders who work hard to help every child succeed. Teachers create a calm and productive learning environment where pupils behave exceptionally well and enjoy coming to school. The school is particularly strong in mathematics and has recently improved results across all subjects.

Key Strengths

  • Outstanding leadership and management with very high expectations for all pupils
  • Exceptional behaviour and safety - pupils are polite, enthusiastic and feel very safe
  • Good progress in all key stages, particularly strong in mathematics
  • Good quality teaching in all year groups, outstanding in some
  • Very well-planned curriculum with trips and visits linked to learning themes

Areas for Improvement

  • Too few pupils reach higher levels in writing at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2
  • Some classes need more opportunities for pupils to write at length for different purposes
  • Need to ensure writing tasks consistently challenge all pupils

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is effective - the school meets all statutory requirements and all pupils are very safe and well cared for, especially those who may be more vulnerable.

Extracurricular Activities

Breakfast club, school council, extracurricular activities, sports coaching, trips and visits linked to curriculum themes

Crab Lane Community Primary School is a good school where pupils make good progress from below-average starting points. School leaders have outstanding expectations and have successfully improved teaching quality across all year groups.

At a Glance

62.3%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

Yes

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

No

Special Measures

What Parents Think

27 responses
Would recommend78%
Child is happy82%
Well taught85%
Good progress89%
Feels safe85%
Well behaved89%
Bullying dealt with15%
Kept informed78%
Handles concerns44%
Wider development70%

Source: Ofsted Parent View - % who strongly agree or agree

Primary Performance (KS2)

Academic year 2025/26

KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)

2024
2025
Reading+10ppMaths+17ppWriting-2pp

Reading has improved from 64% to 74%. Maths has improved from 59% to 76%. Writing has remained stable at around 64%.

Class Sizes

28.3

Avg class size

26.7

Infant (KS1)

28.5

KS2

15

Total classes

2 classes with more than 30 pupils

2024/25 academic year

Social & online

Getting There

Bus Stops

Crab Lane (opp)
191m · 3 min walk
Inchcape Drive (opp)
216m · 4 min walk
Beldon Road (opp)
225m · 4 min walk
Carley Grove (opp)
266m · 4 min walk
Wavertree Road (opp)
313m · 5 min walk
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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

87%

Available places

412 pupils

472 capacity

60 spare places available

Area Demand Pressure - Manchester

Low pressure
New homes approved:18,398
Projected new pupils:4,600

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Manchester

Admissions Demand - Manchester

Low demand0.77x oversubscription

Places available

7,395

Applications

5,691

Got 1st preference

97.3%

Got preferred school

99.5%

Primary admissions across Manchester (2025/26)

Inspection History(12)

29 October 2024
Quality of EducationGood
Behaviour & AttitudesGood
Personal DevelopmentGood
Leadership & ManagementGood
Early YearsGood
16 July 2019
24 June 2015
Leadership & ManagementOutstanding

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SEN Provision

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Pupil Demographics

The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.

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Teachers & Staff

Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.

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School Funding

Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.

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Pupil Absence
2024/25

5.42995%

Overall absence

17.46479%

Persistent absence

355

Enrolments

Authorised3.12047%
Unauthorised2.30948%
Persistent (10%+)17.46479%
Severe (50%+)1.40845%

Absence trend

5.50958%
18/19
4.89556%
20/21
7.83867%
21/22
6.52276%
22/23
5.09908%
23/24
5.42995%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

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