School Chooser

Co-op Academy New Islington

Primary · ages 4-11MixedFree school376 pupilsManchester
School Chooser Score
50
In line with
similar schools
Likely range 28 to 72
Out of 100. Better than 31% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedNo overall gradeLast Ofsted inspection, January 2025
Reached the expected level at 1160%England 63%
Attendance94.7%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families14%Far fewer than most schools
Places44 spare376 pupils, 420 places
Pupils per teacher22.1School workforce census

Co-op Academy New Islington is a free school in Manchester for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 376 pupils and room for 420. About 14 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 50 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 31% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2025, no overall grade.

10 Hugh Oldham Way, New Islington Marina, Ancoats, Manchester, M4 6EY0161 273 8007newislington.coopacademies.co.ukMr Joshua Berry headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 14 January 2025, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

45 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1160%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level9%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score105.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score105.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 57%57%20172018: 55%55%20182019: 68%68%20192023: 51%51%20232024: 52%52%20242025: 60%60%2025
Since 2017: +3%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017ManchesterEngland
Pupils tested454835312928
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths60%52%51%68%55%57%60%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths9%6%9%16%14%4%5%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score105.0104.0104.0105.0104.0104.0104.9105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score105.0105.0104.0105.0103.0102.0104.2104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score105.0105.0105.0106.0106.0107.0105.4105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard73%71%63%74%76%82%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard73%73%63%81%69%68%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)73%58%71%74%72%75%
Reading progressReading progress score+0.7+1.0-0.5-1.1
Maths progressMaths progress score+0.8+0.3-0.4-3.5
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged42%47%30%43%60%45%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged67%55%60%75%53%65%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. None of the gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
42%67%
Gap 25 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
48%71%
Gap 23 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
74%60%
Gap 14 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%9%
Gap 9 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

A few spare places375 pupils for 420 places, 2024/25
89% full

About 45 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have grown by 5% since 2021/22, so places are getting harder to come by.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Manchester council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll376Census January 2026
Places42090% full
Pupils from low-income families14%14% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English46%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support12%45 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%10 pupils with a plan
Average class size26.912 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils8%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)14%£79,050 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls183 / 193
White British pupils18%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 27.8 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 26.3 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (26), Moderate learning difficulty (14), emotional and mental health (11), Autistic spectrum disorder (2), Physical disability (1), Specific learning difficulty (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll376381385382353318
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals14%16%19%19%17%15%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language46%46%44%44%43%41%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support13%13%10%7%5%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans2%2%3%3%3%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance94.7%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school16.8%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils4.72024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission2.0%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.3%5.7%6.1%6.4%3.1%4.7%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.3%3.5%4.6%4.7%2.2%3.1%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence2.0%2.2%1.5%1.7%0.9%1.6%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence16.8%18.0%19.4%18.7%7.0%10.3%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate4.72.91.81.11.3
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers17.0full-time equivalent, 19 people
Pupils per teacher22.1Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants13.5full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£45,769
Teachers who left in the year22%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher3.62024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£6,667England £7,128. Total £2.5m
Income per pupil£6,761England £7,587. Total £2.6m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,895England £3,405
Money in reserve3%Not much put by: £84k, £220 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£36kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,667spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m212 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate1 per 1,000 people99% lower than the England average
Typical house price£254,000Manchester
Nearest bus stop170 mLaystall Street, 17 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
St Anne's RC Primary SchoolRoman Catholic680 m182Not inspected39Compare
St Patrick's RC Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyAcademy760 m184Good 2021Compare
Abbott Community Primary SchoolCouncil870 m228Outstanding 202486Compare
Park View Community Primary AcademyAcademy0.7 miles343Requires improvement 202440Compare
Co-op Academy MedlockAcademy0.9 miles357Requires improvement 20217Compare
Ashbury Meadow Primary SchoolCouncil0.9 miles465No overall grade 20256Compare
St Malachy's RC Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyAcademy1.0 milesGood 2023Compare
Saviour CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England1.1 miles119Report card 20264Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Co-op Academy New Islington with the 45 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 45 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats31%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the lower half of its group. Its score of 50 is 17 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 8 · middle 67 · highest 99100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 45 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Co-op Academy New Islington, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Our Lady of Lourdes RC Primary SchoolRoman Catholic9.1 miles236No overall grade 202489Compare
The Olive School, BoltonFree school11.6 miles422Not inspected99Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 50 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 50% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 28 to 72. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%in line
0.00
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 45 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 1.7 years old
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.08
DfE progress measure; 45 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
+0.03
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%in line
-0.03
2024/25; 351 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%below
-0.09
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 45 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Co-op Academy New Islington a good school?

It is about average. Co-op Academy New Islington scores 50 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 31% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 28 to 72, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Co-op Academy New Islington's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Co-op Academy New Islington not judged at its last full inspection on 14 January 2025.

How good are Co-op Academy New Islington's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 60% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 9% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Co-op Academy New Islington have?

376 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 420 places, so it is 90% full.

Is Co-op Academy New Islington oversubscribed?

Probably not. 45 places were empty in 2024/25 (11% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Co-op Academy New Islington?

Pupils were in school 94.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 17% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Co-op Academy New Islington?

The average class had 26.9 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 8% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
10 Hugh Oldham Way, New Islington Marina, Ancoats, Manchester, M4 6EY
Telephone
0161 273 8007
Website
newislington.coopacademies.co.uk
Headteacher
Mr Joshua Berry
Type of school
Free school (Free schools, free schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Multi-academy trust
The Co-operative Academies Trust (40 schools)
Local authority
Manchester
Ward
Ancoats & Beswick
Constituency
Manchester Central
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
2 September 2013 (new provision)
URN
139598 · LAESTAB 3522022 · UKPRN 10041679

Where these figures come from