Yew Tree Community School

Yew Tree Community School is a happy, vibrant and popular primary school where pupils feel valued and included. Most pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well across a broad curriculum, and the school has notably strengthened reading, behaviour and curriculum consistency since its previous inspection. Early years provision, personal development, leadership and management, and the quality of education were all judged to be good, while behaviour and attitudes requires improvement because of attendance issues. The main concern is persistent absence, particularly among younger pupils. Although the school's work to improve attendance is beginning to show success in key stage 2, too many younger pupils still miss important learning, and the school has not been explicit enough with parents and carers about its attendance expectations. A small number of subjects are also at an earlier stage of curriculum development, so pupils do not recall key knowledge as well as they do in stronger subjects. This was a graded inspection, so the school did not receive an overall effectiveness grade. Yew Tree is a community primary school in Oldham and is part of the MY Schools Together federation with one other school. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and governors have a strong understanding of the school's provision.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, feel valued and are well included in school life.
• Most pupils, including those with SEND, achieve well across a range of subjects.
• Reading is a notable strength, with effective phonics support and fluent Year 6 readers.
• The school identifies pupils with SEND well and adapts learning skilfully.
• Behaviour has improved; pupils are respectful and disruptions to lessons are rare.
• Personal development is well planned through trips, clubs, faith visits and PSHE.
• Governors have a strong understanding of provision and assure themselves about quality.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Staff value structured curriculum schemes and a streamlined marking policy.
• Early years children settle well and cooperate in a comfortable, safe environment.

Areas for Improvement

• Too many pupils, especially younger pupils, are persistently absent from school.
• The school has been less successful in reducing persistent absence among younger pupils.
• Attendance expectations communicated to parents and carers are not explicit enough.
• A small number of subjects are at an early stage of curriculum development.
• In those underdeveloped subjects, pupils do not recall key knowledge as well as in other areas.
• Attendance improvements have only recently begun and are most marked in key stage 2.

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 Yew Tree Community School attended 93.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 19.7% 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, 0.6% of pupils at Yew Tree Community 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 Yew Tree Community School had 38.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 29.3% 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, 12.8% of pupils at Yew Tree Community 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 Yew Tree Community School received £7,393 and spent £7,475 for each of its 608 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £283,000 (£466 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 Yew Tree Community School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Yew Tree Community School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Yew Tree Community School last inspected by Ofsted?

Yew Tree Community School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Yew Tree Community School have?

Yew Tree Community School has 619 pupils on roll.

What age range does Yew Tree Community School cover?

Yew Tree Community School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Yew Tree Community School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Yew Tree Community School?

Yew Tree Community School is at Alcester Street, Chadderton, Oldham, Greater Manchester, OL9 8LD.