SF School Facts UK

Primary school in Manchester

Manchester Communication Primary Academy

49 Parkstead Drive, Harpurhey, Manchester, M9 5QN

Ofsted Good · 2023
School website 01612028989
Ofsted Good March 2023
Met the expected standard 49% in the bottom quarter nationally
Chance of a place 100% of first choices offered
Local deprivation 1/10 more deprived

Ofsted

Goodas at 22 March 2023

Remained Good at its last ungraded inspection, on 22 March 2023.

Ofsted stopped awarding single-word overall grades in September 2024. This grade is 3 years old and will not be updated — the school keeps it until its next inspection, which will not produce a replacement grade.

Read the Ofsted report

Current published outcome
Good
Last overall grade in this dataset
Good
Days since inspection
1,290 days
Framework era
Historic overall-grade framework (ended September 2024)

These four fields describe the latest published inspection on this record. The dataset does not keep a previous inspection row, so a school inspected under the current framework will usually have no overall grade to show as “prior”.

Key stage 2 results 2024/25

Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths

49% England 60.7%

Reached the higher standard

2% England 8.1%

Average reading score

103 England 105.3

Average maths score

102 England 104.1

On the headline measure this school is in the bottom quarter of state-funded primaries in England.

Compared with the fifth of schools whose intake is most disadvantaged, which is where this one sits, it is in the lower half.

There are no progress measures for primary schools any more. They were calculated from a key stage 1 baseline, and statutory key stage 1 tests ended in 2023, so nothing has been published since. That makes attainment the only official measure — and attainment tracks intake closely, which is why the comparison against similar schools above is the more useful of the two lines.

Getting a place 2026/27 entry

About as many first choices as places. Of the 40 families who named this school as their first choice, 100% were offered a place.

Places offered
44

for entry into Reception

Named it first choice
40
First choices per place
0.91

England average 1.00

First choices offered a place
100%

England 95.1%

Demand has been broadly steady over three years.

These are offers made on national offer day for 2026/27 entry, from the local authority's co-ordinated admissions round. They exclude later movement — waiting lists, appeals and in-year admissions — so a school shown as oversubscribed may still have places by September.

Oversubscription measures popularity, not quality, and the two are not the same thing: a school can be heavily oversubscribed because of its intake, its faith designation or simply because the nearest alternative is further away. We do not publish catchment maps, because catchments are not published: each admissions authority applies its own criteria afresh every year, and the distance that got a child in last year is not a boundary. Read the school's own admissions arrangements for the rules that will actually apply.

Pupils

Pupils on roll
414
Places
420
How full
Nearly full — 414 of 420 places taken
Girls / boys
194 / 220
Overall absence
6%

primary schools average 5.2%

Persistently absent
20%

primary schools average 12.8% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions

Free school meals, last 6 years
69%

England 25.7%

English as an additional language
36%

England 18.7%

With an EHC plan
5%

England 3.5%

On SEN support
17%

England 15%

School funding 2025-26 financial year

Not found for this URN in the 2025-26 release.

Evidence found
Not found for this URN in the 2025-26 release; this is not represented as £0.
Source coverage
DfE mainstream-school allocations for running costs for pupils aged 5-16, importer snapshot 23 August 2026.
What this means
The official mainstream allocation release does not provide a publishable row for this establishment.
What this does not mean
The school received no public funding or has no budget; other establishment types and funding streams use different publications.

Allocation is not expenditure. DfE says this release combines the schools block with several other revenue grants and excludes capital spending. Funding is shown for context and is never used in School Facts ordering, peer groups or quality claims. Source, licence and coverage.

Roads and getting there

Road casualties within 500m

Child pedestrian casualties
2

England average 1.6 — pedestrians under 16, over five years

All reported collisions
33

England average 24.2 over five years

Of those, serious or fatal
10
Busiest road nearby
C

20,540 vehicles a day (2008)

Public transport

Bus stops within 500m
22

England average 11.9

Nearest station
Monsall (Manchester Metrolink)

0.5 km away — metro or tram stop

Traffic volume is the context the collision count needs: a school beside a major road will record more collisions than one on a quiet street without being any less well run.

Every collision reported to the police within 500m of the school over the five years to 2024, from the Department for Transport's road casualty statistics. A high count usually says the school sits on or near a busy road, not that the school is unsafe — counts rise with traffic and with how built up an area is, and a rural school on a fast road may have fewer collisions but a worse one. Distances are straight-line from the school's recorded position.

The area around the school

1/10 Deprivation decile

Among the most deprived fifth of England.

1/10 Child poverty decile

Among the most deprived fifth of England for children in low-income families.

Indices of Deprivation 2019, for the small area the school stands in. 1 means the most deprived tenth of England, 10 the least. The second measure counts only children living in low-income families, which is the one that describes the intake a school is likely to draw on.

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£177,500

postcode sector M9 5 · 24 sales

Typical range
£156,250 to £190,000

middle half of sales

Semi-detached
£187,500
Terraced
£160,000

Homes around this school are cheaper than most of England.

Every residential sale registered in this postcode sector since January 2024, from HM Land Registry. A sector covers roughly 2,500 addresses. England's median over the same period was £293,000.

Who lives there

Adults with a degree
27%

England 33.8%

Adults with no qualifications
32%

England 18.3%

In professional or managerial work
4%

England 13.4%

Households deprived in 2+ ways
34%

England 17.8%

Residents in very good health
51%

England 48.4%

Housing

Owned by the occupier
15%

England 62.7%

Social housing
70%

England 17%

Privately rented
15%

England 19.2%

Detached homes
23%

England 38.2%

Four or more bedrooms
9%

England 22.5%

No car
54%

England 21.9%

Census 2021, for Manchester 009B and the wider neighbourhood around it. These figures describe the area, not the pupils — children may travel in from much further away, and for selective, faith and independent schools they usually do.

School details

Type
Academy sponsor led
Phase
Primary
Ages
Ages 4–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Sixth form
No
Nursery
No
Boarding
Day school
Headteacher
Headteacher: Alex Reed
Opened as this establishment
1 September 2014
Register status
Open
Local authority
Manchester
Ward
Harpurhey
Constituency
Blackley and Middleton South
URN
140482

The unique reference number used in all official school data.

Official DfE record
Open the register entry

The source record for this establishment and URN.

The URN identifies this registered establishment. If a school converts or is replaced, DfE may issue a new URN; this page does not stitch different establishments together by a similar name.

Admissions history

The official school-level admissions releases contain up to 13 national-offer-day observations, from 2014/15 to 2026/27. The chart shows first choices per place; the table keeps the underlying counts.

Reception

1.10 2015/16: 0.73 first choices per place2016/17: 0.92 first choices per place2017/18: 0.89 first choices per place2018/19: 0.89 first choices per place2019/20: 0.96 first choices per place2020/21: 0.92 first choices per place2021/22: 0.98 first choices per place2022/23: 0.93 first choices per place2023/24: 0.95 first choices per place2024/25: 0.96 first choices per place2025/26: 1.00 first choices per place2026/27: 0.91 first choices per place2015201720192021202320252026
All 12 annual observations
Entry yearPlacesFirst choicesPer placeFirst choices offered
2015/16 22 16 0.73 100%
2016/17 39 36 0.92 100%
2017/18 47 42 0.89 100%
2018/19 44 39 0.89 97%
2019/20 54 52 0.96 100%
2020/21 52 48 0.92 100%
2021/22 48 47 0.98 100%
2022/23 46 43 0.93 100%
2023/24 56 53 0.95 100%
2024/25 51 49 0.96 100%
2025/26 32 32 1.00 100%
2026/27 44 40 0.91 100%

These are annual observations, not forecasts. They exclude waiting lists, appeals and in-year admissions. Each series follows this exact URN only, so academy conversions and missing releases remain visible as gaps rather than being joined by name.

Nearest primary schools

SchoolOfstedExpected standardDistanceCompare
St Edmund's RC Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyAcademy converter Good 2024 — 0.4 mi
St Augustine's CofE Primary SchoolVoluntary controlled school No overall grade 48% 0.4 mi
Saviour CofE Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school Report card 2026 41% 0.4 mi
St Malachy's RC Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyAcademy converter No overall grade — 0.5 mi
Oasis Academy Harpur MountAcademy sponsor led Good 2024 67% 0.6 mi
Oasis Academy TempleAcademy converter Good 2022 41% 0.6 mi
Irk Valley Community SchoolCommunity school Good 2023 51% 0.7 mi
Holy Trinity CofE Primary SchoolVoluntary controlled school Requires improvement 2024 42% 0.8 mi

Schools like this

The 12 state schools in England whose intake most closely matches this one — same phase and sector, and as near as the data allows on size, disadvantage, SEN, English as an additional language and the deprivation of the surrounding area. These are the schools it can fairly be judged against.

This school 49%
Manchester average 53.6%
England average 60.7%

Percentage meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

SchoolAreaOfstedExpected standardCompare
Spotland Primary AcademyAcademy sponsor led Rochdale Inadequate 2024 —
Kings Oak PrimaryAcademy converter Barnsley No overall grade —
St Luke's CofE Primary SchoolAcademy converter Salford Requires improvement 2024 —
St Michael Catholic Primary and Nursery SchoolAcademy converter Chatham Good 2019 —
Pinfold Primary SchoolAcademy converter Hyde Good 2023 —
Thomas Walling Primary AcademyAcademy converter Newcastle-upon-Tyne No overall grade 76%
Coleshill Heath SchoolAcademy converter Birmingham Good 2021 —
Christ Church Primary SchoolAcademy converter Burton-on-Trent No overall grade —
Cherry Fold Community Primary SchoolCommunity school Burnley No overall grade 37%
Bankwood Primary SchoolAcademy sponsor led Sheffield Inadequate 2022 —
St Margaret Mary's RC Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyAcademy converter Manchester Good 2024 —
Benchill Primary SchoolFoundation school Manchester No overall grade 43%

Matching uses only characteristics a school does not choose. It is not a ranking, and a close match on intake does not make two schools interchangeable — sixth form, faith character, admissions rules and simple geography all matter and are not in the calculation.

Evidence ledger

Reference dates and join methods are kept separate because the figures do not all describe the same year or geography.

EvidencePublisherReference dateHow it reaches this page
School identityGet Information About Schools23 August 2026Exact URN 140482; unified importer snapshot
Inspection evidenceOfsted management information31 July 2026Exact URN; inspection 22 March 2023
AttainmentDfE performance tables2024/25Exact URN; phase-specific definitions
AdmissionsDfE school applications and offers2026/27 plus history to 2014/15Exact URN and entry point; national offer day
Pupil intakeDfE school census2024/25Exact URN; suppressed values remain missing
Funding allocationDfE school funding statistics2025-26 financial yearNo row for this URN in the mainstream-school release; not represented as zero
Roads and transportDfT road casualties, traffic and NaPTANFive-year road window; access-node snapshotCoordinate join within the stated radius
NeighbourhoodONS Census2021LSOA/MSOA containing the school, not pupil homes
DeprivationEnglish Indices of Deprivation2019LSOA containing the school
Home pricesHM Land Registry Price Paid DataSales since January 2024School postcode sector, not a catchment

These sources are published for reuse under the Open Government Licence v3.0, including the Crown database-right notice that accompanies Price Paid Data. Definitions and source notes. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.

Questions this school record can answer

Which exact school is this?

Match the DfE URN, school name and address; names and structures can change while the URN remains the stable identifier.

What does the latest inspection evidence say?

Use the inspection date and framework shown. Do not compare a legacy overall grade directly with the newer report-card judgements.

How should I compare nearby schools?

Compare the same phase, cohort and academic year, then keep intake context and confidence intervals beside performance measures.

What must a parent verify?

Check current admissions rules, travel practicality, support for the child’s needs and the school’s latest official information before deciding.