SF School Facts UK

Primary school in Sale, Trafford

St Margaret Ward Catholic Primary School

Cherry Lane, Sale, Cheshire, M33 4GY

Ofsted Good · 2023 Roman Catholic Full
School website 01619699852
Ofsted Good November 2023
Met the expected standard 67% in the upper half nationally
Chance of a place 100% of first choices offered
Local deprivation 1/10 more deprived

Ofsted

Goodas at 21 November 2023

Graded Good at its last graded inspection, on 21 November 2023.

Ofsted stopped awarding single-word overall grades in September 2024. This grade is 2 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
1,046 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

67% England 60.7%

Reached the higher standard

10% England 8.1%

Average reading score

106 England 105.3

Average maths score

104 England 104.1

On the headline measure this school is in the upper half of state-funded primaries in England.

Compared with the fifth of schools whose intake is second most disadvantaged, which is where this one sits, it is in the better-performing 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

Slightly oversubscribed. Of the 24 families who named this school as their first choice, 100% were offered a place.

Places offered
24

for entry into Reception

Named it first choice
24
First choices per place
1.00

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
223
Places
210
How full
Full — 223 pupils against 210 places
Girls / boys
116 / 107
Overall absence
4%

primary schools average 5.2%

Persistently absent
11%

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

Free school meals, last 6 years
34%

England 25.7%

English as an additional language
33%

England 18.7%

With an EHC plan
4%

England 3.5%

On SEN support
18%

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
0

England average 1.6 — pedestrians under 16, over five years

All reported collisions
6

England average 24.2 over five years

Of those, serious or fatal
1
Busiest road nearby
U

250 vehicles a day (2008)

Public transport

Bus stops within 500m
12

England average 11.9

Nearest station
Timperley (Manchester Metrolink)

1.6 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
£449,250

postcode sector M33 4 · 306 sales

Typical range
£333,250 to £570,000

middle half of sales

Detached
£613,750
Semi-detached
£450,000
Terraced
£255,000
Flat
£145,000

Homes around this school are among the dearest tenth 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.

Housing here is among the dearest in England while the resident population is among the most deprived. High house prices in a district do not mean the families who live there are well off, and this school's intake is likely to reflect the population rather than the property market.

Who lives there

Adults with a degree
24%

England 33.8%

Adults with no qualifications
23%

England 18.3%

In professional or managerial work
16%

England 13.4%

Households deprived in 2+ ways
20%

England 17.8%

Residents in very good health
51%

England 48.4%

Housing

Owned by the occupier
25%

England 62.7%

Social housing
62%

England 17%

Privately rented
11%

England 19.2%

Detached homes
39%

England 38.2%

Four or more bedrooms
17%

England 22.5%

No car
36%

England 21.9%

Census 2021, for Trafford 019E 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
Voluntary aided school
Phase
Primary
Ages
Ages 3–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Sixth form
No
Nursery
Yes
Boarding
Day school
Headteacher
Headteacher: Jason Hughes
Register status
Open
Local authority
Trafford
Ward
Manor
Constituency
Altrincham and Sale West
URN
106359

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

1.40 2014/15: 0.90 first choices per place2015/16: 1.10 first choices per place2016/17: 0.80 first choices per place2017/18: 0.97 first choices per place2018/19: 0.88 first choices per place2019/20: 0.96 first choices per place2020/21: 1.03 first choices per place2021/22: 1.23 first choices per place2022/23: 1.00 first choices per place2023/24: 1.00 first choices per place2024/25: 1.00 first choices per place2025/26: 1.00 first choices per place2026/27: 1.00 first choices per place2014201620182020202220242026
All 13 annual observations
Entry yearPlacesFirst choicesPer placeFirst choices offered
2014/15 30 27 0.90 100%
2015/16 30 33 1.10 79%
2016/17 30 24 0.80 100%
2017/18 29 28 0.97 100%
2018/19 26 23 0.88 100%
2019/20 23 22 0.96 100%
2020/21 30 31 1.03 87%
2021/22 30 37 1.23 78%
2022/23 18 18 1.00 100%
2023/24 26 26 1.00 100%
2024/25 23 23 1.00 100%
2025/26 21 21 1.00 100%
2026/27 24 24 1.00 100%

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
Woodheys Primary SchoolCommunity school Good 2022 70% 0.4 mi
Tyntesfield Primary SchoolAcademy converter No overall grade 87% 0.5 mi
Firs Primary SchoolCommunity school No overall grade 40% 0.6 mi
Broadheath Primary SchoolCommunity school No overall grade 67% 0.7 mi
Park Road Academy Primary SchoolAcademy converter Outstanding 2023 83% 0.9 mi
All Saints' Catholic Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school Report card 2026 76% 1.2 mi
St Hugh's Catholic Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school No overall grade 72% 1.2 mi
St Mary's CofE Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school Good 2023 76% 1.2 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 67%
Median of its 11 closest peers 43%
Trafford average 68.4%
England average 60.7%

Percentage meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. This school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.

SchoolAreaOfstedExpected standardCompare
Priorswood Primary SchoolAcademy sponsor led Taunton Good 2022 21%
St Benedict's Catholic Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school Warrington Good 2022 43%
Ely St Mary's CofE Junior SchoolAcademy converter Ely Good 2023 63%
Blowers Green Primary SchoolAcademy converter Dudley Outstanding 2022 77%
Our Lady of Mount Carmel RC Primary School, Ashton-under-LyneVoluntary aided school Ashton-under-Lyne Good 2022 40%
St Gregory's RC Primary School, A Voluntary AcademyAcademy sponsor led Bolton Good 2024 81%
Kingsfield Primary SchoolAcademy sponsor led Chatteris Good 2022 43%
St Peter's Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy sponsor led Wallsend Requires improvement 2023 —
St Andrew's C of E Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school Uxbridge No overall grade 50%
Estcourt Primary AcademyAcademy converter Hull No overall grade 85%
St Peter's Church of England Primary SchoolVoluntary controlled school Bury Report card 2026 43%
St John with St Mark CofE Primary SchoolVoluntary controlled school Bury Good 2022 37%

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 106359; unified importer snapshot
Inspection evidenceOfsted management information31 July 2026Exact URN; inspection 21 November 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.