Mesne Lea Primary School

Salford · M28 7FG

General information Primary School · 3-11 years Who goes here 441 pupils, 25.8% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 21.8% on SEN support Behaviour 5.6% absence rate Staff 19.7% turnover Financials £6,169 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Mesne Lea Primary School

General Information

Address: Walkden Road, Walkden, Manchester, M28 7FG – View on map
Phone: 01615662993
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Victoria Unsworth
Age range: 3-11 years
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

441 pupils out of 446 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 111
% eligible for free school meals: 25.8%
Pupil mix: 4 in 10 (less mixed than the Salford average)
English as an additional language: 11% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 19.7% a year (Salford 11.4%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 50% moved to another school, 50% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 2 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Salford: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 1 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 10 (0.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 1 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Salford, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 5.6%
Persistently absent pupils: 15.3%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 21.8%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 6.8%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 47 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 26 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 8 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 8 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 4 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 22 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 5 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Ofsted report card April 2026

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Achievement Needs attention
Attendance and behaviour Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard
Early years Expected standard
Leadership and governance Expected standard

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 56% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 13% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 6 percentage points below the Salford average (62%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (3-year average 50% against an expected 60%)
3-year average (expected standard): 50%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 78% · Writing 69% · Maths 69% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 73%
Average test scores: reading 106, maths 104
Based on: 55 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolSalford averageEngland↗ Improving Up 14 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 6 percentage points below the Salford average (62%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 44th of 69 junior and primary schools in the area

=42Light Oaks Junior School57%
=42St Mark's RC Primary School57%
=44Mesne Lea Primary School56%
=44St Paul's CofE Primary School56%
#46Lark Hill Community Primary School55%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

=1Christ The King RC Primary School89%
=1Wardley CofE Primary School89%
#3Broadoak Primary School88%
#4St Andrew's CofE Primary School84%
=5St Mark's CofE Primary School83%
=5St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School83%
=7Bridgewater Primary School82%
=7James Brindley Community Primary School82%
=9St Andrew's Methodist Primary School77%
=9St Philip's RC Primary School77%
=11Dukesgate Academy76%
=11Monton Green Primary School76%
=11St Paul's CofE Primary School76%
#14Brentnall Academy75%
#15Primrose Hill Primary School and Children's Centre74%
#16Ellenbrook Community Primary School73%
#17Broughton Jewish Cassel Fox Primary School72%
=18Irlam Primary School71%
=18St Mary's RC Primary School71%
#20St Paul's CofE Primary School70%
=21St Mary's CofE Primary School69%
=21St Peter's CofE Primary School69%
=23St Charles' RC Primary School68%
=23St Gilbert's RC Primary School68%
=25St Boniface RC Primary School67%
=25St Mary's RC Primary School67%
=27Beech Street Community Primary School66%
=27Christ Church CofE Primary School66%
=27Lewis Street Primary School66%
=27St Edmund's RC Primary School66%
=31Barton Moss Community Primary School64%
=31St John's CofE Primary School64%
=33Grosvenor Road Primary School63%
=33St Augustine's CofE Primary School63%
=33St Paul's Peel CofE Primary School63%
=36Wharton Primary School62%
=36Willow Tree Primary School62%
=38Mossfield Primary School61%
=38St Paul's CofE Primary School61%
=40Fiddlers Lane Community Primary School59%
=40St Andrew's CofE Primary School59%
=42Light Oaks Junior School57%
=42St Mark's RC Primary School57%
=44Mesne Lea Primary School56%
=44St Paul's CofE Primary School56%
#46Lark Hill Community Primary School55%
=47Peel Hall Primary School54%
=47St Joseph the Worker RC Primary School54%
#49Lower Kersal Community Primary School53%
=50Holy Family VA RC Primary School52%
=50St Sebastian's RC Primary School52%
=52Holy Cross and All Saints RC Primary School51%
=52St Luke's RC Primary School51%
#54St Philip's CofE Primary School50%
=55River View Community Primary School48%
=55The Friars Primary School48%
#57Moorside Primary School47%
=58Godfrey Ermen Memorial CofE Primary School46%
=58Irlam Endowed Primary School46%
=60Marlborough Road Academy45%
=60Summerville Primary School45%
=62Clifton Primary School42%
=62Westwood Park Community Primary School42%
#64Boothstown Methodist Primary School39%
#65North Walkden Primary School34%
#66St George's CofE Primary School31%
#67St Joseph's RC Primary School30%
#68Moss Valley Primary Academy29%
#69The Cathedral School of St Peter and St John RC Primary10%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,169 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

58th of 72 primary schools in Salford for spending per pupil

#56Grosvenor Road Primary School£6,210
#57Moorside Primary School£6,199
#58Mesne Lea Primary School£6,169
#59St Paul's CofE Primary School£6,019
#60Holy Cross and All Saints RC Primary School£5,980

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Moss Valley Primary Academy£11,610
#2St Philip's CofE Primary School£10,444
#3Broughton Jewish Cassel Fox Primary School£9,772
#4Brentnall Academy£9,633
#5Summerville Primary School£9,366
#6Marlborough Road Academy£9,101
#7Dukesgate Academy£8,549
#8Christ Church CofE Primary School£8,500
#9Wharton Primary School£8,358
#10River View Community Primary School£8,274
#11Peel Hall Primary School£8,180
#12Lewis Street Primary School£7,941
#13St George's CofE Primary School£7,928
#14Fiddlers Lane Community Primary School£7,852
#15The Friars Primary School£7,750
#16St Boniface RC Primary School£7,706
#17Mossfield Primary School£7,671
#18St Paul's Peel CofE Primary School£7,611
#19Lower Kersal Community Primary School£7,484
#20Westwood Park Community Primary School£7,461
#21St Sebastian's RC Primary School£7,382
#22Beech Street Community Primary School£7,341
#23Lark Hill Community Primary School£7,317
#24St Joseph the Worker RC Primary School£7,278
#25St Paul's CofE Primary School£7,221
#26Primrose Hill Primary School and Children's Centre£7,212
#27North Walkden Primary School£7,155
#28Bridgewater Primary School£7,145
#29Clifton Primary School£7,141
#30The Cathedral School of St Peter and St John RC Primary£7,110
#31St Mary's CofE Primary School£7,077
#32St Andrew's Methodist Primary School£6,953
#33St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School£6,942
#34St Paul's CofE Primary School£6,862
#35Willow Tree Primary School£6,845
#36St Edmund's RC Primary School£6,816
#37Godfrey Ermen Memorial CofE Primary School£6,806
#38Holy Family VA RC Primary School£6,767
#39St Andrew's CofE Primary School£6,765
#40St Augustine's CofE Primary School£6,738
#41St Paul's CofE Primary School£6,730
#42Irlam Endowed Primary School£6,730
#43St Gilbert's RC Primary School£6,640
#44Barton Moss Community Primary School£6,640
#45St Mary's RC Primary School£6,614
#46St Joseph's RC Primary School£6,607
#47St John's CofE Primary School£6,497
#48Ellenbrook Community Primary School£6,483
#49Wardley CofE Primary School£6,448
#50St Peter's CofE Primary School£6,437
#51St Mark's RC Primary School£6,413
#52Boothstown Methodist Primary School£6,392
#53St Charles' RC Primary School£6,352
#54Christ The King RC Primary School£6,323
#55James Brindley Community Primary School£6,288
#56Grosvenor Road Primary School£6,210
#57Moorside Primary School£6,199
#58Mesne Lea Primary School£6,169
#59St Paul's CofE Primary School£6,019
#60Holy Cross and All Saints RC Primary School£5,980
#61Irlam Primary School£5,974
#62Monton Green Primary School£5,915
#63St Mary's RC Primary School£5,886
#64Broadoak Primary School£5,839
#65St Mark's CofE Primary School£5,821
#66St Andrew's CofE Primary School£5,712
#67St Luke's RC Primary School£5,646
#68St Philip's RC Primary School£5,592
#69St Teresa's RC Primary School a Voluntary Academy£4,581
#70St Luke's CofE Primary School£3,055
#71The Deans Primary School£2,741
#72Cadishead Primary Academy£1,368

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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