Alt Academy

Alt Academy continues to demonstrate good overall performance. Pupils enjoy their time at the school, engage actively in learning, and feel safe and supported by caring staff. The school prioritizes pupils’ well-being and provides a wide range of activities, ensuring inclusivity. The curriculum is ambitious, and most pupils learn effectively across various subjects, including special educational needs pupils who receive tailored support. The leadership of the school is strong, with supportive governance and a focus on staff well-being and workload management.

Strengths

• Pupils exhibit positive attitudes and are eager to learn.
• Strong focus on pupils' welfare and well-being.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND.
• Ambitious and engaging curriculum provided by knowledgeable teachers.
• A wide range of extracurricular activities enhancing pupil experience.
• Positive relationships between staff and parents.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistency in task effectiveness across some subjects affecting pupil 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 Alt Academy attended 93.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.8% 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, 1.9% of pupils at Alt Academy 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 Alt Academy had 20.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 26.3% 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, 17.5% of pupils at Alt Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.5% 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 2024–25 Alt Academy received £8,538 and spent £8,063 for each of its 313 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £340,000 (£1,088 per pupil).

Across all 17 schools of The Harmony Trust Ltd, income was £7,256 and spending £7,263 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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

Alt Academy is part of The Harmony Trust Ltd, which runs 17 schools. The nearest others:

• Greenhill Academy Oldham
• Richmond Academy Oldham
• Northmoor Academy Oldham
• Westwood Academy Oldham
• Greenfield Primary Academy Cheshire
• Spotland Primary Academy Rochdale
• Norden Primary Academy Rochdale
• Reigate Park Primary Academy Derby
• Hackwood Primary Academy Derby
• Cavendish Close Junior Academy Derby

What is Alt Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Alt Academy is Good, from an inspection in December 2022.

When was Alt Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Alt Academy was last inspected in December 2022.

How many pupils does Alt Academy have?

Alt Academy has 343 pupils on roll.

What age range does Alt Academy cover?

Alt Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Alt Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 40% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Alt Academy?

Alt Academy is at Alt Lane, Oldham, Lancashire, OL8 2EL.