Elms Bank
Ripon Avenue, Whitefield, Bury, M45 8PJ
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special converter
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- OAK LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
- Headteacher
- Ms Catherine Dent
- Sponsor
- Oak Learning Partnership
- SEN provision
- VI - Visual Impairment, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Bury South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 221
- Pupils on roll
- 364
- URN
- 146891
- Local authority
- Bury
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01617661597
About this school
Elms Bank is a special academy in Bury. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 364 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Elms Bank, 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 27 | 52 | 54 |
| Attainment 8 score | 4.0 | 2.3 | 2.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.28 -1.92 to -0.65 | -1.50 -1.91 to -1.09 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Elms Bank has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Bury average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4 | 40.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 2.3 | 38.9 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 2.2 | 37.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 307 |
| 2023/24 | 338 |
| 2024/25 | 344 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 54.37%
- English as an additional language
- 19.5%
- Overall absence
- 11.74%
- Persistent absence
- 32.25%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Brookhaven School0.8 miles
Free Schools · Bury
-
Cloughside College1.5 miles
Special schools · Manchester
-
Millwood Primary Special School1.9 miles
Special schools · Bury
-
Forestwood School2.3 miles
Special schools · Bury
-
Mill School - Bury2.3 miles
Special schools
Other schools in Bury
- Ash Grove School Academies
- Brookhaven School Free Schools
- Forestwood School Special schools
- Millwood Primary Special School Special schools
- Rossendale School Special schools
- Hoyle Nursery School Nursery
- Bury and Whitefield Jewish Primary School Primary
- Chantlers Primary School Primary
- Chesham Primary Academy Primary
- Christ Church CofE Primary School Primary
- East Ward Community Primary School Primary
- Edenfield Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Elms Bank teach?
- Elms Bank teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a special school in Bury.
- Who is the headteacher of Elms Bank?
- The headteacher of Elms Bank is Ms Catherine Dent, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Elms Bank been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Elms Bank, 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 Elms Bank?
- Elms Bank has 364 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Elms Bank full?
- Elms Bank has capacity for 221 pupils and 364 on roll (165%), 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 Elms Bank a faith school?
- No. Elms Bank has no designated religious character.
- Is Elms Bank part of an academy trust?
- Elms Bank is part of OAK LEARNING PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Elms Bank have?
- The schools register lists Elms Bank's special educational needs provision as: VI - Visual Impairment; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Elms Bank's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 4 in 2022/23 and 2.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Elms Bank's absence rate?
- Elms Bank's overall absence rate is 11.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Elms Bank's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Elms Bank'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 10 July 2026.