School Chooser

Newlands School

Special · ages 4-11MixedCouncil131 pupilsManchesterRochdale
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
Reached the expected level at 110%England 63%
Attendance91.6%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families46%Far more than most schools
PlacesFull131 pupils, 120 places
Pupils per teacher9.0School workforce census
Pupils on roll131Census January 2026

Newlands School is a council special school in Manchester for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 131 pupils, 11 more than it has places for. About 46 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England.

Waverley Road, Middleton, Manchester, M24 6JG0161 655 0220Ms Farzana Shah headteacherAll details

Ofsted

Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

20 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 110%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level0%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading scoreOfficial name: Reading average scaled score
Maths scoreOfficial name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 0%0%20172018: 0%0%20182019: 0%0%20192023: 0%0%20232024: 0%0%20242025: 0%0%2025
Since 2017: +0%
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017RochdaleEngland
Pupils tested20121815129
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%0%0%0%60%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%0%0%0%4%8%
Expected level: readingReading expected standard0%0%0%0%0%0%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard0%0%0%0%0%0%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)0%0%0%0%0%0%
Reading progressReading progress score-5.3-5.9-5.5-7.1
Maths progressMaths progress score-6.2-5.7-6.0-7.2
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged0%0%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged0%0%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. Every gap at this school is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
0%0%
No gapEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
0%0%
No gapEngland 5 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%0%
No gapEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Rochdale council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll131Census January 2026
Places120109% full
Pupils from low-income families46%46% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English10%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%131 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)44%£88,350 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls92 / 39
White British pupils66%

Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, moderate learning difficulties, physical disability, profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties.

To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Rochdale with autism provision.

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (75), language and communications needs (32), Physical disability (5), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (4), Severe learning difficulty (4), Moderate learning difficulty (3).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll131132122121120120
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals46%42%44%46%41%35%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language10%14%16%17%17%10%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support0%0%1%1%0%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans100%100%99%99%99%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 91.6% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance91.6%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school24.6%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission2.2%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence8.4%7.1%10.5%12.3%10.8%8.9%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence6.3%5.2%8.2%10.7%9.8%8.1%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence2.2%1.9%2.3%1.5%1.0%0.8%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence24.6%24.4%30.3%34.8%27.0%30.0%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.00.02.50.8
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers14.6full-time equivalent, 15 people
Pupils per teacher9.0Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers93%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants36.2full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£48,219
Teachers who left in the year48%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher12.92024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£21,834England £32,258. Total £2.9m
Income per pupil£23,141England £32,367. Total £3.1m
Spent on teachers per pupil£7,357England £11,930
Money in reserve2%Very little put by: £70k, £532 per pupil. England 7%
Money in against money out+£172kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£21,834spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m112 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate0 per 1,000 people100% lower than the England average
Typical house price£207,000Rochdale
Nearest bus stop40 mNewlands Primary School, 21 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Hollin Primary SchoolCouncil90 m331Good 202448Compare
Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High SchoolRoman Catholic500 m1,186Good 202242Compare
Boarshaw Community Primary SchoolCouncil520 m446Good 202233Compare
St John Fisher Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyAcademy610 m211Good 2024Compare
Hopwood Hall CollegeFurther education750 mNot inspectedCompare
St Anne's Church of England AcademyAcademy920 m817Good 202429Compare
Middleton Parish Church SchoolAcademy930 m432No overall grade 2025Compare
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, MiddletonRoman Catholic1.0 miles462Good 202322Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Newlands School a good school?

We don't have enough published data to score Newlands School yet.

How good are Newlands School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 0% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Newlands School have?

131 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 120 places, so it is 109% full.

What is attendance like at Newlands School?

Pupils were in school 91.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 25% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does Newlands School have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It is a special school for autism, moderate learning difficulties, physical disability, profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Waverley Road, Middleton, Manchester, M24 6JG
Telephone
0161 655 0220
Headteacher
Ms Farzana Shah
Type of school
Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
Phase
Special school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Rochdale
Ward
Hopwood Hall
Constituency
Heywood and Middleton North
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 September 2007 (new provision)
URN
135201 · LAESTAB 3547014 · UKPRN 10071715

Where these figures come from