The Ferns Primary Academy, Bolton
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Location
Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 8 months agoReport card - no overall grade (new Ofsted framework from Sep 2024)
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
The Ferns Primary Academy excels at helping all children succeed, especially those who start below typical levels. Teachers are passionate about delivering an ambitious curriculum with carefully chosen activities that help pupils learn and remember new knowledge. The school creates a caring, inclusive environment where pupils feel valued, safe and supported to reach their full potential.
Key Strengths
- Exceptional progress for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs - often exceeding outcomes for other pupils
- Rigorous, carefully sequenced curriculum from early years to Year 6 with high-quality teaching and learning
- Early reading taught very effectively using phonics from the start of Reception
- Strong leadership with unified determination to meet pupils' academic and wider needs
- Rich personal development programme with trips, visits, clubs and specialist sports opportunities
Areas for Improvement
- Attendance for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities remains below national figures, though leaders have identified this as a priority
- Behaviour policy not applied uniformly by all staff, resulting in some pupils receiving inconsistent guidance
- Need to maintain consistency in implementation of school approaches across all staff
Safeguarding
Safeguarding standards are met - leaders have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility, concerns are actively identified and acted upon, and pupils are made safer and feel safe.
Extracurricular Activities
Trips, visits, clubs, specialist sports, residential visits, mentoring programmes, school competitions, junior leadership team
The Ferns Primary Academy is a strong primary school where pupils make consistently secure progress through a rigorous, well-sequenced curriculum. Children enter with lower-than-average starting points but receive excellent support to achieve extremely well by Year 6.
At a Glance
32.0%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2025/26KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has remained stable at around 85%. Maths has declined from 92% to 85%. Writing has declined from 88% to 81%.
Class Sizes
30.0
Avg class size
29.3
Infant (KS1)
29.9
KS2
15
Total classes
3 classes with more than 30 pupils
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
Bus Stops
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
106%
Over capacity
445 pupils
420 capacity
25 places over capacity
Area Demand Pressure - Bolton
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Bolton
Admissions Demand - Bolton
Places available
4,105
Applications
3,501
Got 1st preference
89.7%
Got preferred school
97.6%
Primary admissions across Bolton (2025/26)
Inspection History(5)
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
5.50591%
Overall absence
15.25886%
Persistent absence
367
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
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Secondary Schools Nearby
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The Ferns Primary Academy
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