Woodlands Primary Academy
About Woodlands Primary Academy
Woodlands Primary Academy sits in Oldham, a local authority with 86 primary schools, and ranks 66th among them — placing it in the bottom half of the borough. The top-performing peers in the area are Christ Church CofE Primary School, St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School, and St Anne's CofE Lydgate Primary School, all of which score significantly higher on the same ranking metric. Woodlands is a mixed, state primary for children aged 2 to 11, with a nursery on site. Headteacher Louise Hayes leads a school that is currently oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 intake, 48 families applied for 28 places, and all 28 first-preference applicants were offered a spot. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection, in March 2025, judged it as Requires Improvement overall, though inspectors rated behaviour and attitudes, personal development, early years provision, and leadership and management all as Good. The quality of education was the area flagged for improvement, dropping from Good in the previous inspection in 2020.
Key Details
The full report on this school
What 53 parents told Ofsted, the inspection in plain English, and how this school compares to nearby alternatives — all in one full school report.
- Ofsted inspection in plain EnglishStrengths, concerns and what inspectors flagged
- Parent View survey resultsWhat parents told Ofsted — when the school has 10+ responses
- Where Ofsted and parents disagreeGaps to probe + questions to ask at the open day
- Admissions & catchmentAdmission criteria, distance cutoffs (where the LA publishes them)
- Nearby schools comparedBackup options with Ofsted, demand and distance
- Attendance & behaviour dataPersistent absentees, suspensions and exclusions vs national
Ofsted Inspection Breakdown
11 Mar 2025From September 2024, Ofsted no longer assigns a single overall grade in inspections of state-funded schools.
Source: Ofsted, 28 Apr 2025. Ratings: 1=Outstanding, 2=Good, 3=Requires Improvement, 4=Inadequate.
Facilities
5Facilities may vary. Contact the school for current availability.
Extracurriculars
13Sports
Clubs & Activities
Activities may vary by term. Contact the school for current offerings.
SEND Support
Source: Department for Education, 2024/25. Support availability based on current student population.
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