Essa Primary Academy, BOLTON
Essa Primary Academy is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in Bolton, part of Northern Education Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in October 2019. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in November 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 52nd-highest of the 89 schools in BOLTON with published results, and 7,614th of 14,452 across England. It was 98% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Good (2019)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Bolton (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Essa Primary Academy in detail
Results
In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils at Essa Primary Academy reached the expected standard in reading and 78% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 77% and 78% in Bolton and 77% and 75% across England.
Results rose from 77% in reading and 67% in maths in 2024.
Getting a place at Essa Primary Academy
For September 2026 entry, 20 families put Essa Primary Academy as their first choice and 66 named it as one of their preferences, for 25 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Essa Primary Academy are St Bede Academy (0.3 miles, Good, 69% reading, 77% maths); Lever Edge Primary Academy (0.4 miles, Good, 73% reading, 83% maths); The Olive Tree Primary School Bolton (0.5 miles, Good, 82% reading, 77% maths); and St William of York Roman Catholic Primary School (0.6 miles, Good, 90% reading, 97% maths).
Essa Primary Academy's 2025 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.
St Bede AcademyLever Edge Primary AcademyThe Olive Tree Primary School BoltonSt William of York Roman Catholic Primary School
The trust
Essa Primary Academy is one of 30 schools run by Northern Education Trust, an academy trust.
Across the trust's primary schools, 78% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.
What parents say
10 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Essa Primary Academy (as of September 2025): 70% would recommend the school, 80% say their child is happy there and 60% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child does well at the school (90%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (60%).
Who goes there
43.9% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 68.2% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are Asian (61%), Black (12%) and other ethnic groups (6%).
In 2026, 80 pupils (20.7%) received SEN support and 11 (2.8%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is speech, language and communication needs.
Staffing
Essa Primary Academy had 17 teachers in 2026, one for every 24 pupils: fewer teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Bolton Rail Station, about 1.5 miles away in a straight line.
13 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Aldersyde Street (opposite), 110 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Essa Primary Academy issued 0 suspensions, 0 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Essa Primary Academy are Essa Academy (under 0.1 miles), King's Leadership Academy Bolton (0.3 miles), Bolton Muslim Girls School (0.7 miles) and Mount St Joseph RC High School a Voluntary Academy (1 mile).
Essa AcademyKing's Leadership Academy BoltonBolton Muslim Girls SchoolMount St Joseph RC High School a Voluntary Academy
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from October 2019, 6 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils have positive relationships with their teachers and staff, which they value. Pupils are respectful towards each other. They enjoy learning about the diverse world around them. For example, they enthusiastically told inspectors about the different cultures and backgrounds of others they learn about in their lessons and through the books that they read.
The school has raised its ambitions for what pupils should learn and achieve. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Many pupils, including children in the early years, now achieve well across most curriculum subjects. Pupils rise to the school's high expectations for behaviour. Pupils conduct themselves sensibly and get along with each other well. Fall outs are rare. Pupils are happy and safe at this school.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The school has recently emerged from a period of turbulence that had caused a decline in standards since the last inspection. However, the school has taken rapid and effective actions to address many of the issues that had negatively impacted the quality of education that pupils received. For example, the school has successfully overhauled many of its subject curriculums. These curriculums are now ambitious and well-designed, including from the early years. They are typically delivered well by staff. Such improvements have helped more pupils to attain the expected standards in national end of key stage assessments.
The school has put early reading front and centre of its curriculum improvement work. This has paid dividends. The school now delivers its phonics programme consistently well. It provides pupils with books that are well suited to their stage of learning to read. When pupils need extra help with their phonics learning, the school acts quickly to provide them with intensive, highly individualised extra support. The number of pupils that meet the standard of the phonics screening check in Year 1 has increased. Many pupils quickly become confident, fluent readers.
From Ofsted's November 2024 ungraded inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its October 2019 inspection - up from Requires Improvement.
Rated Outstanding for
Early years.
Rated Good for
Quality of education, Behaviour & attitudes, Personal development, Leadership & management.
At a Glance
43.9%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
10 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has remained stable at around 75% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 67% to 78% (2024 to 2025). Writing has improved from 67% to 78% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
27.8
Avg class size
23.2
Infant (KS1)
30.6
KS2
13
Total classes
3 classes with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Essa Primary Academy
Before and after school care
Essa Primary Academy is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school. Source: Free breakfast clubs: schools on the programme, Department for Education Free breakfast clubs in Bolton
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Essa Primary Academy.
- First Kick FootballAt the school · Not yet graded
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Essa Primary Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Essa Primary Academy is in Bolton; for families living there:
Apply to Bolton for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 10
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 3
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 10 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 9 slight.
3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
5 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Bolton is 14 (the median across 148 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Essa Primary Academy
Will you get a place at Essa Primary Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Essa Primary Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Essa Primary Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Essa Primary Academy.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Bolton, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Essa Primary Academy for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Bolton got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
98%
Near capacity
413 pupils
420 places
7 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - BOLTON
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for BOLTON
Across Bolton council
Places available
4,015
Applications
3,455
Got 1st preference
89.5%
Got preferred school
96.8%
All primary applications across Bolton council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
80
SEN Support
11
EHC Plans
23.5%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
387
Total Pupils
192
Boys
195
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
17
Teachers
22.8:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£45,526
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,921
Per pupil
£2675k
Total funding
£248k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
5.7%
Overall absence
15.6%
Persistent absence
378
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Questions parents ask about Essa Primary Academy
What are SATs results like at Essa Primary Academy?
Of the pupils at Essa Primary Academy who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 75% reached the expected standard in reading and 78% did so in maths.
What is Essa Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?
Essa Primary Academy's most recent Ofsted inspection, in November 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in October 2019, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Essa Primary Academy?
No fixed boundary. When Essa Primary Academy is oversubscribed, Bolton allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Essa Primary Academy?
Essa Primary Academy was close to full in 2025, at 98% of its capacity.
How big are the classes at Essa Primary Academy?
Classes at Essa Primary Academy average 27.8 pupils (2025/26). 3 classes have more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to Essa Primary Academy?
Essa Primary Academy has around 387 pupils on roll. 44% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Essa Primary Academy?
5.7% of sessions were missed at Essa Primary Academy in 2024/25. 15.6% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Essa Primary Academy?
Apply through Bolton's coordinated admissions process, naming Essa Primary Academy on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
Does Essa Primary Academy have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Essa Primary Academy is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school. Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club at the school: First Kick Football (registered, not yet graded).
How many road collisions happen near Essa Primary Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 10 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 9 slight. 3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 5 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Bolton is 14 (the median across 148 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Essa Primary Academy?
Essa Primary Academy is at Lever Edge Lane, BOLTON, Lancashire, BL3 3HH.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)