School Chooser

Navigation Primary School

Primary · ages 3-11MixedCouncil444 pupilsNurseryAltrinchamTrafford
School Chooser Score
93
Well above
similar schools
Likely range 87 to 96
Out of 100. Better than 72% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedNo overall gradeLast Ofsted inspection, March 2025
Reached the expected level at 1172%England 63%
Attendance96.5%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families8%Far fewer than most schools
PlacesFull444 pupils, 420 places
Pupils per teacher21.2School workforce census

Navigation Primary School is a council school in Altrincham for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 444 pupils, 24 more than it has places for. About 8 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 93 out of 100. That puts it well above schools like it, ahead of 72% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2025, no overall grade.

Hawarden Road, Altrincham, WA14 1NG0161 711 0149navigationprimary.comMiss Karen Grant headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 4 March 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”
Outstanding
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Outstanding
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes
Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
5 February 2020UngradedSchool remains Good

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1172%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level13%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score108.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score108.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 78%78%20172018: 83%83%20182019: 78%78%20192023: 74%74%20232024: 82%82%20242025: 72%72%2025
Since 2017: -6%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017TraffordEngland
Pupils tested616261605959
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths72%82%74%78%83%78%71%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths13%23%11%15%24%19%13%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score108.0108.0108.0106.0109.0108.0107.7105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score108.0109.0108.0108.0108.0109.0107.0104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score109.0108.0107.0109.0112.0110.0107.9105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard84%84%87%85%95%85%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard90%92%89%90%93%92%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)75%89%80%82%86%83%
Reading progressReading progress score+3.0+1.3+1.0+1.2
Maths progressMaths progress score+3.3+2.2+1.1+1.9
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged63%40%38%50%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged74%80%85%81%

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. 3 of the 4 gaps are 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
63%74%
Gap 11 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
70%74%
Gap 4 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
72%72%
No gapEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%13%
Gap 13 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.

Nearly full415 pupils for 420 places, 2024/25
99% full

Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

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 Trafford 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 roll444Census January 2026
Places420106% full
Pupils from low-income families8%8% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English28%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support15%68 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan2%10 pupils with a plan
Average class size29.515 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils13%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)9%£54,250 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls218 / 226
White British pupils65%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 29.3 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 30.0 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (27), emotional and mental health (26), Moderate learning difficulty (15), Specific learning difficulty (5), Physical disability (3), Autistic spectrum disorder (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll444439444446434442
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals8%9%6%7%7%6%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language28%29%27%26%24%22%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support15%13%14%14%10%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans1%2%1%1%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.5% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance96.5%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school5.0%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.8%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence3.5%3.6%4.1%5.1%2.5%3.0%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence2.7%2.9%3.6%4.4%2.2%2.5%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.8%0.7%0.6%0.6%0.3%0.5%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence5.0%6.6%9.8%12.3%5.2%5.8%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.00.20.00.7
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers20.8full-time equivalent, 26 people
Pupils per teacher21.2Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants13.2full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£50,510
Teachers who left in the year3%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher3.12024/25

Money

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

Spend per pupil£6,117England £7,738. Total £2.7m
Income per pupil£5,956England £7,697. Total £2.6m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,943England £3,480
Money in reserve16%A healthy amount put by: £424k, £974 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£70kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£6,117spent 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

Local crime rate0 per 1,000 people100% lower than the England average
Typical house price£365,000Trafford
Nearest bus stop220 mEllesmere Road, 14 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
Altrincham CofE (Aided) Primary SchoolChurch of England750 m211Good 202380Compare
St Vincent's Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic810 m632Outstanding 2024100Compare
St Hugh's Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic0.7 miles584No overall grade 202483Compare
Willows Primary SchoolCouncil0.7 miles375Good 202489Compare
Broadheath Primary SchoolCouncil0.7 miles524Not inspected87Compare
Park Road Academy Primary SchoolAcademy0.8 miles236Outstanding 2023100Compare
Tyntesfield Primary SchoolAcademy1.0 miles441No overall grade 202498Compare
Stamford Park Primary SchoolCouncil1.0 miles426Good 202486Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Navigation Primary School with the 47 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 47 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats72%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 93 is 7 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 10 · middle 86 · highest 100100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 93 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 93% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 87 to 96. 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%above
+0.25
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 61 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%above
+0.16
Ofsted grade, 1.5 years old
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.21
DfE progress measure; 61 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
+0.00
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%well above
+0.12
2024/25; 364 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%above
+0.06
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 61 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 Navigation Primary School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Navigation Primary School scores 93 out of 100. That is well above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 72% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 87 to 96, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Navigation Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Navigation Primary School not judged at its last full inspection on 4 March 2025.

How good are Navigation Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 72% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 13% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Navigation Primary School have?

444 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 420 places, so it is 106% full.

Is Navigation Primary School oversubscribed?

Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.

What is attendance like at Navigation Primary School?

Pupils were in school 96.5% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 5% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Navigation Primary School?

The average class had 29.5 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 13% 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
Hawarden Road, Altrincham, WA14 1NG
Telephone
0161 711 0149
Website
www.navigationprimary.com
Headteacher
Miss Karen Grant
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Trafford
Ward
Altrincham
Constituency
Altrincham and Sale West
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
106283 · LAESTAB 3582000 · UKPRN 10078968

Where these figures come from