Ofsted: Good trending_up Places Available emoji_events #8 in Bolton public Top 20% UK

The Ferns Primary Academy

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMrs Danielle Broadbent

corporate_fareNORTHERN EDUCATION TRUST

location_onBolton, BL4 0DA

language Visit Website phone 1204471277

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2016

groups

Students

446

school

Expected Standard

76%

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

1.0x

summarize

The Ferns Primary Academy is a Academy sponsor led primary school in Bolton, serving ages 3-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Ranks in the top 20% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

The Ferns Primary Academy is an academy sponsor led in Bolton, admitting pupils aged 3-11. It is part of NORTHERN EDUCATION TRUST. The school has approximately 450 pupils on roll, of whom 38% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 76% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 12% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #8 of 88 primaries in Bolton and #660 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2016. The school's current overall rating is Good.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 1.0× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 24.4:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 2.0 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

76%

LA 63%

Reading85% LA 75%

Writing81% LA 73%

Maths85% LA 75%

Read SS

108

Maths SS

108

GPS SS

106

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

87%

LA 63%England 61%

Reading87% LA 75% · Eng 74%

Writing88% LA 73% · Eng 72%

Maths92% LA 76% · Eng 73%

Read SS

107

Maths SS

106

GPS SS

104

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

75%

LA 63%England 60%

Reading79% LA 74% · Eng 73%

Writing86% LA 74% · Eng 71%

Maths88% LA 77% · Eng 73%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

107

GPS SS

104

Progress (0 = national avg)

-0.7

Read

LA 0.3

-2.5 to 1.0

2.7

Write

LA 1.2

1.1 to 4.4

1.4

Maths

LA 1.1

-0.2 to 3.1

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

75%

LA 64%England 65%

Reading76% LA 70% · Eng 73%

Writing86% LA 79% · Eng 78%

Maths88% LA 78% · Eng 79%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

107

GPS SS

104

Progress (0 = national avg)

1.5

Read

LA 0.2

-0.1 to 3.1

3.3

Write

LA 1.0

1.8 to 4.8

3.7

Maths

LA 0.9

2.3 to 5.1

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

70%

LA 64%

Reading77% LA 73%

Writing88% LA 78%

Maths82% LA 76%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

106

Progress (0 = national avg)

0.8

Read

LA 0.2

-0.7 to 2.3

2.8

Write

LA 0.7

1.3 to 4.3

2.8

Maths

LA 0.7

1.4 to 4.2

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

30 June 2021

Inspection Report

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08 June 2016

Inspection Report

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14 May 2014

Inspection Report

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27 February 2013

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

2 Evaluations

2016-06-08

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2014-05-14

None Legacy

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

2.0%per term

warning Above Average

National average: 0.8% for this term (primary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

0.7%(3 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 1.225% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 450 pupils. During this period, there were 9 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 2.0%, which is above the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	450	9	2.0%	0.8%	0
2024/25 (Autumn term)	445	9	2.0%	0.9%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	455	2	0.4%	0.8%	0
2023/24 (Spring term)	457	4	0.9%	0.7%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	455	3	0.7%	0.8%	0
2022/23 (Summer term)	445	3	0.7%	0.7%	0
2022/23 (Spring term)	446	3	0.7%	0.6%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	448	4	0.9%	0.6%	0
2021/22 (Summer term)	453	6	1.3%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	454	4	0.9%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	449	1	0.2%	0.5%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	443	1	0.2%	0.4%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	445	0	0.0%	0.1%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	442	2	0.5%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Summer term)	440	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	440	9	2.0%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	444	6	1.4%	0.6%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	442	11	2.5%	0.4%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	435	6	1.4%	0.5%	0
2018/19 (Autumn term)	432	7	1.6%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Summer term)	443	5	1.1%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Spring term)	443	3	0.7%	0.4%	0
2017/18 (Autumn term)	428	8	1.9%	0.5%	0
2016/17 (Summer term)	414	2	0.5%	0.4%	0
2016/17 (Spring term)	403	3	0.7%	0.4%	0
2016/17 (Autumn term)	388	8	2.1%	0.5%	1

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Speech, Language & Communication 46 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 12 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 5 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 3 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 3 pupils

Physical Disability 3 pupils

Multi-Sensory Impairment 2 pupils

Severe Learning Difficulty 1 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 1 pupils