Wellfield Infant and Nursery School
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Wellfield Infant and Nursery School is a council school in Sale for boys and girls aged 3 to 7. It has 206 pupils, 6 more than it has places for. About 4 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 98 out of 100. That puts it well above schools like it, ahead of 94% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was outstanding, back in 2023.
Church Lane, Sale, M33 5QW0161 962 1828wellfieldinfants.comMrs Joanne Thirkill headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
A shorter visit on 14 March 2023 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Outstanding overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.
Results
No published results yet for this school.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
About 28 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have fallen by 5% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.
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 Trafford council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.
Specialist SEND provision. SEN unit with 8 pupils, for autism, moderate learning difficulties, physical disability, social, emotional and mental health.
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 Trafford with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (12), language and communications needs (11), Moderate learning difficulty (4), Physical disability (3), Autistic spectrum disorder (1), Other difficulty or disability (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 206 | 212 | 227 | 238 | 222 | 226 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 4% | 8% | 8% | 6% | 10% | 8% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 9% | 10% | 12% | 13% | 11% | 8% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 5% | 6% | 7% | 5% | 8% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 8% | 7% | 5% | 5% | 4% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.3% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 3.7% | 4.0% | 5.1% | 5.2% | 2.6% | 2.7% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 3.1% | 3.4% | 4.4% | 4.6% | 2.3% | 2.4% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.3% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 7.7% | 6.3% | 9.0% | 13.7% | 7.1% | 3.2% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.2 | 2.7 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
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
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 primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wellfield Junior School | Council | 170 m | 246 | Good 2023 | 61 | Compare |
| Park Road Sale Primary School | Academy | 660 m | 461 | Outstanding 2024 | 100 | Compare |
| St Mary's CofE Primary School | Church of England | 690 m | 239 | Good 2023 | 92 | Compare |
| All Saints' Catholic Primary School | Roman Catholic | 870 m | 205 | Report card 2026 | 87 | Compare |
| Firs Primary School | Council | 0.7 miles | 540 | No overall grade 2025 | 65 | Compare |
| Springfield Primary School | Council | 0.8 miles | 680 | Report card 2026 | 95 | Compare |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy | Academy | 1.0 miles | 437 | No overall grade 2025 | 99 | Compare |
| Woodheys Primary School | Council | 1.1 miles | 443 | Good 2022 | 92 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Wellfield Infant and Nursery School with the 48 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 48 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
No school with a similar mix of pupils within 25 km scores clearly higher.
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 98 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 98% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 94 to 100. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.
| What we looked at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 0% | no data | – | |
| Ofsted inspection | 19% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old) | well above | +0.98 | Ofsted grade, 3.5 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 0% | no data | – | |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | in line | -0.01 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | above | +0.22 | 2024/25; 130 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 0% | no data | – | |
| What parents say | 0% | no data | – |
Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.
Questions parents ask
Is Wellfield Infant and Nursery School a good school?
Yes, going by the figures. Wellfield Infant and Nursery School scores 98 out of 100. That is well above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 94% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 94 to 100, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is Wellfield Infant and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Wellfield Infant and Nursery School outstanding at its last full inspection on 14 March 2023.
How many pupils does Wellfield Infant and Nursery School have?
206 pupils aged 3 to 7 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 200 places, so it is 103% full.
Is Wellfield Infant and Nursery School oversubscribed?
Probably not. 28 places were empty in 2024/25 (14% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at Wellfield Infant and Nursery School?
Pupils were in school 96.3% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 8% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Wellfield Infant and Nursery School?
The average class had 28.4 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 20% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does Wellfield Infant and Nursery School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It has sen unit for autism, moderate learning difficulties, physical disability, social, emotional and mental health. 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
- Church Lane, Sale, M33 5QW
- Telephone
- 0161 962 1828
- Website
- www.wellfieldinfants.com
- Headteacher
- Mrs Joanne Thirkill
- Type of school
- Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 3-7, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Trafford
- Ward
- Ashton upon Mersey
- Constituency
- Altrincham and Sale West
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 106313 · LAESTAB 3582039 · UKPRN 10080403
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.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- 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.