St Thomas Moorside CofE (VA) Primary School
General Information
- Address: Coleridge Road, Sholver, Oldham, OL1 4RL – View on map
- Phone: 01616249290
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mr Adam Laskey
- Age range: 3-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 12 families put it first for 13 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 9
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Church of England
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 107
- % eligible for free school meals: 48.0%
- Pupil mix: 6 in 10 (more mixed than the Oldham average)
- English as an additional language: 17% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 25.7% a year (Oldham 15.7%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 58% moved to another school, 42% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
- Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)
Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.
Behaviour
Awaiting Data
Across Oldham: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 1 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
- Suspensions for bullying: 4 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 1 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
- Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)
These are figures for all state primary schools in Oldham, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.
Attendance
- Overall absence: 7.3%
- Persistently absent pupils: 18.9%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
- Resourced provision for AutismSpeech, language and communication 12 places · 6 pupils at the last count
Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.
- Pupils on SEN Support: 7.2%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 7.6%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Speech, language and communications needs: 10 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
- Physical disability: 2 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Speech, language and communications needs: 12 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2024 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 37% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 21 percentage points below the Oldham average (58%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 43% against an expected 55%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 43%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 50% · Writing 63% · Maths 43% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 37%
- Average test scores: reading 99, maths 97
- Based on: 30 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25
View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.
SATs results over time
Year 6 SATs: 70th of 71 junior and primary schools in the area
- =66Woodlands Primary Academy40%
- #69Whitegate End Primary and Nursery School39%
- #70St Thomas Moorside CofE (VA) Primary School37%
- #71Oasis Academy Limeside36%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
49th of 64 primary schools in Oldham for Ofsted rating
- #47St Theresa's RC Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyGood
- #48St Thomas CofE Primary SchoolGood
- #49St Thomas Moorside CofE (VA) Primary SchoolGood
- #50St Thomas' Leesfield CofE Primary SchoolGood
- #51St. Paul's CofE Primary SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £7,610 (2024-25)
16th of 76 primary schools in Oldham for spending per pupil
- #14Mather Street Primary School£7,703
- #15Blackshaw Lane Primary & Nursery School£7,648
- #16St Thomas Moorside CofE (VA) Primary School£7,610
- #17Whitegate End Primary and Nursery School£7,561
- #18Alt Academy£7,510
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)