Gaskell Community Primary School

  • Primary
  • Local authority maintained
  • Ages 3 to 11
Ofsted judgements: Good

Thomas Holden Street, Bolton, BL1 2QGOpen in maps (opens in a new tab)

Gaskell Community Primary School is a primary school in Bolton for ages 3 to 11. It is one of the 142 schools in Bolton. It ranks 23rd of 86 primary schools in Bolton. Its latest Ofsted inspection, in January 2025, graded each key judgement and gave no overall Ofsted rating.

Ofsted inspection

Inspected 14 January 2025, report published 13 February 2025

This inspection graded each key judgement and gave no overall effectiveness grade.

Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Early years provision
Good
Safeguarding
Met

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 14 January 2025

Gaskell Community Primary School is an extremely warm and caring school. Pupils support each other. They are fully committed to the school's ethos of 'kind hands, kind words, kind hearts and be kind to yourself'. Pupils behave well. They are polite and well mannered. They move around the school in an orderly way. This results in a calm and purposeful atmosphere for learning. Pupils feel happy and safe in school. They are aware of whom they can talk to if they have a concern. The school has high aspirations for its pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils strive to meet these expectations. They have positive attitudes to learning and achieve well. The school provides pupils with well-considered experiences that broaden their understanding of the world. Pupils take part in after-school clubs, such as crafts, tag rugby and chess. They benefit from going on a wide variety of trips and residential visits. Pupils are proud of the way that they contribute to the school. For example, the play leaders support other pupils during breaktimes.

What the school should improve

  • In a few subjects, teachers do not check what pupils have learned well enough. This means that teachers are not able to identify and address gaps in pupils' knowledge. The school should ensure that teachers check pupils' understanding and remedy any misconceptions so that they build their learning securely over time.
  • Some pupils do not keep pace with the phonics programme. The support that they receive does not help them to catch up quickly enough to leave key stage 1 with secure phonics knowledge. The school should ensure that those pupils who find reading difficult receive the support that they need to catch up quickly.

Exam results

SATs results (key stage 2), 2024/25

56 pupils took the tests

Expected standard in reading, writing and maths79%

79%, 17 percentage points above the England average of 62%.

Higher standard in reading, writing and maths11%

11%, 3 percentage points above the England average of 8%.

Reading, average scaled score106

106, the same as the England average.

Maths, average scaled score108

108, 3 above the England average of 105.

Grammar, punctuation and spelling, average scaled score111

111, 6 above the England average of 105.

Pupil numbers and mix

472 pupils on roll, with places for 420

Eligible for free school meals32.6%

32.6%, 6.1 percentage points above the England average of 26.5%.

English as an additional language68.6%

68.6%, 47 percentage points above the England average of 21.6%.

Special educational needs support15.9%

15.9%, 1.1 percentage points above the England average of 14.8%.

Education, health and care plan1.7%

1.7%, 4.3 percentage points below the England average of 6%.

Schools near Gaskell Community Primary School

SchoolDistanceOfstedResults
St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Bolton0.3 milesOfsted: Good47% met the expected standard
The Olive School, Bolton0.4 milesOfsted: Outstanding95% met the expected standard
Brownlow Fold Primary School0.4 milesReport card: Expected standard53% met the expected standard
Al-Huda Primary School0.5 milesOfsted: GoodNot published
Oxford Grove Primary School0.5 milesOfsted: Outstanding80% met the expected standard

School details

School type
Community school
Sector
Local authority maintained
Age range
3 to 11
Gender
Mixed
Nursery classes
Yes
Headteacher
Miss Sarah Barlow
Address
Thomas Holden Street, Bolton, BL1 2QG
Local authority
Bolton
URN
105155

School details from Get Information about Schools, 17 September 2026. Ofsted outcomes published to 31 August 2026. Exam results for 2024/25 from the Department for Education. Pupil mix from the school census, 2025/26.