Firs Primary School, Manchester Review 2026: High-attainment Trafford primary with specialist SEND classes

Inspire, Believe, Achieve sits at the centre of this school’s identity, and it shows up not just on posters but in how pupils approach learning. The most recent Key Stage 2 results place the school comfortably above England averages across the core measures, with a notably high proportion reaching the higher standard.

The July 2025 inspection graded Quality of Education as Good, with Behaviour and Attitudes, Personal Development, and Early Years all graded Outstanding, and Leadership and Management graded Good.

For families needing mainstream with additional specialist support, the school’s two Small Specialist Classes, designed for social communication needs and autism, are a defining feature.

This is a school that puts calm routines and high expectations front and centre. Pupils are expected to be ready to learn, and the tone supports that: lessons run with purpose, movement around school is orderly, and pupils’ conduct is treated as part of achievement rather than separate from it.

Leadership is clearly visible in the way inclusion is described and organised. Mrs Sarah Bryan is the headteacher, and the school positions itself as an inclusive community setting that aims to serve pupils across a wide range of needs, including those requiring specialist provision alongside mainstream classes.

Early years is not treated as a bolt-on. The school’s nursery is described as integrated into wider school life, with children making use of broader facilities, and with dedicated outdoor provision used in all weathers. That matters because it suggests children are not kept in an early years bubble; instead, they are gradually socialised into the expectations of the main school while still learning through play and exploration.

The community context is also explicit in the school’s published vision. The emphasis is on being safe, inclusive and respectful, with strong attention to personal development and wellbeing. In practice, that usually translates into consistent behaviour systems, clear adult oversight at social times, and early identification of pupils who need help settling or attending regularly.

Character in Nursery and Reception

Nursery provision starts at age 3, and the school sets out a clear rationale: a teacher-led early years approach aligned to the Early Years Foundation Stage, supported by teaching assistants.

The practical implication is that the early years experience is likely to feel structured. Families who want a gentle but organised start, with an emphasis on independence and early language development, will usually value a setting that is explicit about staffing and curriculum rather than vague about “learning through play”. At the same time, parents seeking a very informal nursery model may find the school’s expectations more formal than some standalone settings.

Results are consistently strong against England benchmarks.

In 2024, 78.67% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics combined, compared with an England average of 62%. At the higher standard, 32% achieved greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics, compared with an England average of 8%. Reading and mathematics scaled scores were also above national norms (reading 106; mathematics 108), with grammar, punctuation and spelling at 108.

Ranked 2951st in England and 55th in Manchester for primary outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data), the school sits above England average, placing it comfortably within the top 25% of schools in England.

What does that mean for families? First, pupils here are more likely than average to leave Year 6 secure in the full KS2 curriculum. Second, the higher-standard figure suggests the school is not only getting pupils over the line, it is also moving a substantial minority into deeper mastery, which can be a good predictor of confidence at Key Stage 3, especially in maths and extended writing.

The curriculum ambition is clear, with strong attention to reading culture and systematic support for pupils who need additional help. Reading is reinforced through daily routines and regular opportunities to engage with books, including library use and story time.

The school also appears comfortable combining whole-school consistency with targeted intervention. Pupils who struggle with reading, including some who speak English as an additional language, are given additional support. The improvement focus flagged in the most recent inspection is specific: ensuring a small minority practise reading often enough, and tightening curriculum sequencing in a small number of subjects so teachers are completely clear about the knowledge pupils must secure.

For parents, that combination is usually reassuring. It suggests the school is not complacent, and that improvement work is focused on implementation detail rather than wholesale redesign.

As a Trafford primary, the Year 6 to Year 7 transition is shaped by the local secondary landscape, which includes both selective and non-selective routes. Families applying for Year 7 places in September 2026 face a clear local deadline: 31 October 2025 for secondary applications within Trafford’s coordinated process.

In practical terms, this means conversations about secondary choices often start early in Year 6, particularly for families considering grammar tests, open evenings, and travel logistics. A strong KS2 profile can widen realistic options, but it does not remove the need to plan early, especially where popular schools are oversubscribed.

For families who want a smoother handover, it is worth asking during visits how the school supports transition beyond the basics, for example, liaison with secondaries, preparing pupils for different timetables, and building independence in organisation and homework habits. Older inspection evidence suggests transition has long been taken seriously here, although day-to-day practice should be checked during current tours.

Reception to Year 6 admissions are managed by Trafford local authority, and the school states it has no role in allocating places (including waiting lists for in-year admissions).

Trafford’s published dates for starting primary in September 2026 are the ones families should treat as fixed milestones:

• Application deadline: 15 January 2026

• National offer day: 16 April 2026

Demand is real. Recent Reception admissions data shows 97 applications for 39 offers, which equates to about 2.49 applications per place. That level of competition does not mean “no chance”, but it does mean families should treat this as an oversubscribed option. A practical step is to use FindMySchool’s Map Search to check how your home location compares with typical distance-based allocation patterns in your area, then sanity-check that against Trafford’s published criteria.

Nursery admissions

Nursery admissions are handled directly by the school rather than Trafford, with places typically built around the universal funded hours for eligible children and the working parent entitlement where applicable. The school also makes clear that the nursery sits within the wider school grounds, with its own outdoor provision, and that nursery children take part in aspects of wider school life.

Do not rely on a nursery place translating automatically into a Reception place. Nursery and Reception sit under different admissions routes, and Reception is coordinated by Trafford.

Small Specialist Classes

The two Small Specialist Classes are structured with clear age ranges: one covering Reception to Year 2, the other Year 3 to Year 6. Each class is described as having 10 pupils supported by a teacher and a teaching assistant, with entry via Education, Health and Care Plan and local authority referral rather than standard admissions.

This provision can be a strong fit for some families because it offers specialist expertise while still enabling pupils to spend time in mainstream classes where appropriate, supporting gradual inclusion rather than all-or-nothing placement.

Pastoral support is described as a strength, with pupils encouraged to share worries and adults positioned as consistently supportive.

Safeguarding was confirmed as effective in the most recent inspection documentation.

In day-to-day terms, the wellbeing picture is also reinforced by the school’s published vision, which explicitly links achievement to emotional wellbeing and mental health. Parents choosing between local options should look for the practical mechanics behind this, for example, how concerns are logged, how early help works, and how the school supports attendance where families need additional help.

For pupils with SEND, the key pastoral advantage is structural: specialist classes and a mainstream model that describes inclusion as core, not optional. That tends to produce clearer plans, better-trained staff, and less improvisation when needs change mid-year.

Extracurricular provision here is shaped by two practical realities: there is wraparound childcare, and there is an organised menu of clubs that changes termly.

Breakfast club runs for nursery through Year 6, opening at 7.30am with arrivals up to 8.15am, and children are taken to class at 8.45am. The published cost is £5.00 per child, per day, with advance booking.

After school, families have two routes. There is an on-site after-school childcare option run by an external provider, and there are clubs which are booked either via ParentPay or directly with the provider depending on the activity.

The club menu includes a mix of sport, languages, arts and practical making. Examples from the current timetable and inspection evidence include Archery and Target Games, Clay Creators, Dodgeball, Creative Writing, French, Spanish, Guitar, and Lego Bricks 4 Kids.

Why does this matter? For many families, the point of clubs is not “enrichment” as a buzzword, it is routine. A predictable pattern of before-school and after-school options makes commuting workable, helps pupils build friendships beyond their class, and gives children a low-stakes way to find something they are good at that is not purely academic.

This is a state school with no tuition fees.

Wraparound is a clear strength. Breakfast provision starts early and is available from nursery to Year 6, and there is also an on-site after-school childcare route via an external provider.

The school publishes term dates for 2025 to 2026 and 2026 to 2027, which helps families planning childcare and travel.

Published pages do not clearly set out the full school-day start and finish times for each year group, so parents should confirm current drop-off and pick-up windows directly during tours, especially for nursery and Reception where arrangements often differ.

For travel, Sale is generally well connected within Trafford via public transport and local roads. For day-to-day reality, the best question to ask during a visit is about drop-off flow and parking pressure at peak times, rather than relying on optimistic assumptions.

• Competition for places. Recent Reception admissions data shows 97 applications for 39 offers, around 2.49 applications per place. Families should treat this as an oversubscribed option and make a realistic plan with backups.

• Specialist provision is not a shortcut. The Small Specialist Classes are accessed via local authority referral and Education, Health and Care Plan. Being a pupil in the mainstream school does not create priority for these places.

• Some clubs and childcare involve additional costs. Breakfast club has a published daily fee, and some extracurricular clubs are delivered by external providers, so families should budget for optional extras.

• Curriculum consistency is an active improvement area. The latest inspection documentation highlights the need to sharpen curriculum sequencing in a small number of subjects and to ensure a small minority of pupils practise reading frequently enough. This is a specific, fixable improvement focus, but it is still worth asking how changes are being implemented.

Strong KS2 outcomes, a clear behaviour culture, and an unusually well-defined specialist SEND offer make this a serious option for Trafford families who want mainstream with structure and high expectations. It best suits parents who value a calm learning climate, want above-average attainment, and may benefit from the option of specialist classes without leaving a mainstream setting. The main hurdle is admission competition, so families should plan early and keep realistic alternatives in play.