The Watkin Centre
The Watkin Centre is an independent special school in Manchester for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 47 pupils and room for 110.
Mulberry House, Claverton Road, Wythenshawe, Manchester, M23 9TT0330 118 0974firststepstogether.ukMrs Catherine Donnelly headteacherAll details
Ofsted
Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet. That is normal for a school that opened in 2024: new schools usually get their first inspection within three years.
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 Manchester council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 47 | 23 |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% |
The area around the school
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.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Wilfrid's CofE Aided Primary School Northenden | Academy | 220 m | 340 | Good 2024 | 24 | Compare |
| Oakbrook School | Independent | 260 m | – | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Northenden Community School | Academy | 410 m | 232 | Good 2019 | – | Compare |
| Southern Cross School | Academy | 900 m | 165 | Good 2023 | – | Compare |
| St. Aidan's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy | Academy | 0.9 miles | 207 | Requires improvement 2023 | 0 | Compare |
| Benchill Primary School | Foundation | 1.0 miles | 479 | No overall grade 2024 | 22 | Compare |
| Pioneer House High School | Free school | 1.0 miles | 170 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Rack House Primary School | Council | 1.0 miles | 460 | Report card 2025 | 87 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is The Watkin Centre a good school?
We don't have enough published data to score The Watkin Centre yet.
How many pupils does The Watkin Centre have?
47 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2024. It has 110 places, so it is 43% full.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Mulberry House, Claverton Road, Wythenshawe, Manchester, M23 9TT
- Telephone
- 0330 118 0974
- Website
- www.firststepstogether.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Catherine Donnelly
- Type of school
- Independent special school (Other independent special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Manchester
- Ward
- Baguley
- Constituency
- Wythenshawe and Sale East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 25 April 2024 (new provision)
- URN
- 150525 · LAESTAB 3526034 · UKPRN 10101260
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.