St Richard's Roman Catholic Primary School Atherton, Manchester
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Location
Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 5 months agoReport card - no overall grade (new Ofsted framework from Sep 2024)
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
St Richard's is a welcoming Catholic school where pupils feel genuinely safe and cared for by staff who know them well. The school has achieved excellent attendance rates and creates a strong sense of community based on faith, kindness and respect. Pupils enjoy a range of enrichment activities and develop leadership skills through meaningful responsibilities.
Key Strengths
- Excellent attendance rates well above national averages, with strong support for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND
- Warm, caring relationships between staff and pupils with a clear focus on safeguarding and pupil wellbeing
- Ambitious curriculum design with detailed knowledge gained in some subjects like science
- Strong leadership on attendance and staff wellbeing
- Pupils learn to respect different beliefs and take on meaningful leadership roles
Areas for Improvement
- Teaching quality is inconsistent across year groups - teachers do not always check pupils have learned before moving on
- Some pupils in early years are not developing secure phonics knowledge needed for reading
- Gaps in spelling, grammar and maths for disadvantaged pupils are not closing quickly enough
- Support for pupils with SEND, particularly in the specialist provision, is not well matched to their needs
- Leaders do not rigorously check whether their improvements are making a real difference
Safeguarding
Safeguarding standards are met - the school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding where all legal requirements are met and pupils feel safe.
Extracurricular Activities
Clubs, local sports partnership with nearby schools, zoo visits, other places of interest, residential visits for older pupils
St Richard's Roman Catholic Primary School in Atherton is a caring community where pupils feel safe and enjoy coming to school, but some are not as well prepared for their next stage of education as they could be due to inconsistent teaching quality and gaps in support for vulnerable pupils.
At a Glance
36.4%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2025/26KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 81% to 54%. Maths has declined from 87% to 75%. Writing has declined from 90% to 71%.
Class Sizes
26.3
Avg class size
24.3
Infant (KS1)
27.8
KS2
7
Total classes
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
Train Stations
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
88%
Available places
184 pupils
210 capacity
26 spare places available
Area Demand Pressure - Manchester
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Manchester
Admissions Demand - Wigan
Places available
3,894
Applications
3,601
Got 1st preference
89.7%
Got preferred school
97.0%
Primary admissions across Wigan (2025/26)
Inspection History(13)
House Prices
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SEN Provision
How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.
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.
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.
School Funding
Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.00991%
Overall absence
11.04651%
Persistent absence
172
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
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Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
St Richard's Roman Catholic Primary School Atherton
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