Whittaker Moss Primary School
Highwood, Rochdale, OL11 5XP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Melanie Backhouse
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Heywood and Middleton North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 436
- Pupils on roll
- 443
- URN
- 105781
- Local authority
- Rochdale
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01706342342
About this school
Whittaker Moss Primary School is a community primary school in Rochdale. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 443 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Whittaker Moss Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 45 | 55 | 57 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 69% | 76% | 74% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 5% | 14% |
| Expected standard in reading | 76% | 89% | 86% |
| Expected standard in maths | 84% | 82% | 82% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 89% | 87% | 88% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 106.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 108.0 | 106.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.30 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Whittaker Moss Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Rochdale average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 69% | 55.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 76% | 56.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 74% | 57.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 427 |
| 2023/24 | 440 |
| 2024/25 | 437 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Whittaker Moss Primary School compares
Whittaker Moss Primary School ranked 5th of 55 primary schools in Rochdale for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 76% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 76% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 74% | 4.3% | 6.7% | 443 | — |
| Norden Primary Academy | — | — | — | 370 | 0.5 miles |
| Caldershaw Primary School | — | — | — | 235 | 0.7 miles |
| St Vincent De Paul Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy | — | — | — | 343 | 0.7 miles |
| Bamford Academy | 50% | 6.7% | 16.9% | 324 | 0.8 miles |
| St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Bamford | 76% | 3.9% | 5.9% | 228 | 1.4 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 6.65%
- English as an additional language
- 6.9%
- Overall absence
- 4.33%
- Persistent absence
- 6.42%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Norden Primary Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Rochdale
-
Caldershaw Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Rochdale
-
St Vincent De Paul Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Rochdale
-
Bamford Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Bamford1.4 miles
Primary · Heywood
Other schools in Rochdale
Whittaker Moss Primary School ranks 3rd of the 32 ranked primary schools in Rochdale.
- Alice Ingham Roman Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Primary
- All Saints Church of England Primary School Primary
- Ashfield Valley Primary School Primary
- Belfield Community School Primary
- Brimrod Community Primary School Primary
- Broadfield Community Primary School Primary
- Caldershaw Primary School Primary
- Castleton Primary School Primary
- Crossgates Primary School Primary
- Deeplish Primary Academy Primary
- Greenbank Primary School Primary
- Hamer Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Whittaker Moss Primary School teach?
- Whittaker Moss Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Rochdale.
- Who is the headteacher of Whittaker Moss Primary School?
- The headteacher of Whittaker Moss Primary School is Mrs Melanie Backhouse, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Whittaker Moss Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Whittaker Moss Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Whittaker Moss Primary School?
- Whittaker Moss Primary School has 443 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Whittaker Moss Primary School full?
- Whittaker Moss Primary School has capacity for 436 pupils and 443 on roll (102%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Whittaker Moss Primary School a faith school?
- No. Whittaker Moss Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Whittaker Moss Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Whittaker Moss Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Whittaker Moss Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 69% in 2022/23 and 74% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Whittaker Moss Primary School compare with other schools in Rochdale?
- Whittaker Moss Primary School ranked 5th of 55 primary schools in Rochdale for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 76% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 76% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Whittaker Moss Primary School's absence rate?
- Whittaker Moss Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Whittaker Moss Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Whittaker Moss Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.