Elm Wood Primary School

Elm Wood Primary School demonstrates a solid overall performance, classified as good in multiple key areas, including the quality of education, behaviour, attitudes, personal development, and leadership. The school shows particular strength in its early years provision, which is regarded as outstanding. Pupils are happy, well-behaved, and engaged, enjoying a curriculum that is ambitious and meaningful. However, there are identified gaps in students' prior learning due to previously weaker subject curriculums, which can hinder optimal progress for some pupils. The school is under new leadership since the last inspection and has made strides in ensuring an inclusive environment for all students, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Strengths

• Caring and welcoming environment for pupils
• Strong leadership and commitment from governors
• High expectations for academic achievement and personal development
• Effective support for pupils with SEND
• Abundant extracurricular opportunities and clubs
• Rigorous approach to early reading, creating fluent readers
• Pupils value diversity and are well-prepared for life in modern Britain

Areas for Improvement

• Gaps in knowledge due to previous weaker curriculums
• Need to embed recent curriculum changes fully

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 Elm Wood Primary School attended 93.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.1% 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, 1.8% of pupils at Elm Wood Primary 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 Elm Wood Primary School had 23.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 2.1% 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, 16.1% of pupils at Elm Wood Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.6% 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 Elm Wood Primary School received £6,831 and spent £6,830 for each of its 453 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £113,000 (£250 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 Manchester · Rochdale local authority: places and applications

What is Elm Wood Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Elm Wood Primary School is Good, from an inspection in May 2024.

When was Elm Wood Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Elm Wood Primary School was last inspected in May 2024.

How many pupils does Elm Wood Primary School have?

Elm Wood Primary School has 453 pupils on roll.

What age range does Elm Wood Primary School cover?

Elm Wood Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Elm Wood Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 43% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Elm Wood Primary School?

Elm Wood Primary School is at Elm Street, Middleton, Manchester, M24 2EG.