St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School

St Martin’s CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School is a warm, nurturing school where compassionate relationships and the ‘SHINE’ values shape daily life. Pupils are polite, engaged and proud of their school, and personal development is a particular strength: the school offers a broad programme of clubs, trips and experiences that helps pupils become responsible citizens and supports their well-being. Safeguarding is effective, and pupils with SEND are identified well and supported academically and emotionally. The curriculum is well established from Nursery to Year 6, subject leadership is strong, and pupils generally progress well from typically low starting points. Reading is celebrated and children gain early reading skills quickly, while attendance is a high priority and persistent absence has reduced significantly. Behaviour is typically calm and orderly, and governors know the school well and provide effective support and challenge. There are still areas to improve. In a small number of subjects, staff do not deliver the curriculum as precisely or clearly as intended, which limits some pupils’ depth of subject knowledge and independence. Teaching methods occasionally do not help pupils learn as well as they could, leading to avoidable errors, and the school’s approach to vocabulary and oracy is not consistently effective, so some pupils are not helped to articulate and extend their learning as well as intended. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2013, when it was exempt because of its previous outstanding judgement.

Strengths

• Warm, compassionate relationships between pupils and staff
• Pupils are polite, charismatic and proud of their school
• Personal development programme goes beyond the expected
• Broad range of clubs, trips and experiences fosters pupils’ talents and interests
• Curriculum is well sequenced from Nursery to Year 6
• Pupils progress well from typically low starting points
• Subject leadership is well established
• Reading is celebrated and early reading skills develop quickly
• Pupils with SEND are identified effectively and well supported
• Attendance is a high priority and persistent absence has reduced significantly
• Behaviour is typically calm and orderly
• Governors know the school well and provide effective support and challenge
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, staff do not implement the curriculum as precisely or clearly as intended
• Some pupils do not develop the depth of subject knowledge and independence of which they are capable
• Teaching methods occasionally do not help pupils learn as well as they could, leading to avoidable errors
• Vocabulary and oracy are not consistently embedded, limiting some pupils’ ability to articulate and extend learning

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School attended 94.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.9% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.9% of pupils at St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School had 27.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 18.7% of pupils at St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School received £7,988 and spent £7,989 for each of its 221 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £56,000 (£253 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Oldham · Oldham local authority: places and applications

What is St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School have?

St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School has 225 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School cover?

St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 76% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School?

St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School is at St Martin's Road, Fitton Hill, Oldham, Lancashire, OL8 2PY.