Medlock Valley Primary School
Deanshut Road, Fitton Hill, Oldham, OL8 2PN
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- KINGFISHER LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Michael Ball & Joanne Backhouse
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Kingfisher Learning Trust
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 341
- Pupils on roll
- 337
- URN
- 147453
- Local authority
- Oldham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01617708199
About this school
Medlock Valley Primary School is a primary academy in Oldham. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 337 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Medlock Valley 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 | 40 | 44 | 42 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 55% | 55% | 48% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 2% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 78% | 73% | 52% |
| Expected standard in maths | 75% | 68% | 67% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 73% | 55% | 60% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 103.0 | 99.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.40 | - | - |
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 Medlock Valley 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 | Oldham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 55% | 54.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 55% | 55.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 48% | 57.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 312 |
| 2023/24 | 317 |
| 2024/25 | 322 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Medlock Valley Primary School compares
Medlock Valley Primary School ranked 58th of 71 primary schools in Oldham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 19% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 48% | 6.7% | 62.6% | 337 | — |
| St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School | 76% | 5.3% | 57.2% | 225 | 0.1 miles |
| Holy Rosary RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy | — | — | — | 226 | 0.3 miles |
| Alexandra Park Junior School | 43% | 5.2% | 43.9% | 342 | 0.7 miles |
| Broadfield Primary School | 43% | 6% | 43% | 384 | 0.8 miles |
| Alt Academy | 40% | 6.2% | 59.9% | 343 | 0.8 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)
- 62.58%
- English as an additional language
- 47.8%
- Overall absence
- 6.69%
- Persistent absence
- 23.32%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School0.1 miles
Primary · Oldham
-
Holy Rosary RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy0.3 miles
Primary · Oldham
-
Alexandra Park Junior School0.7 miles
Primary · Oldham
-
Broadfield Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Oldham
-
Alt Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Oldham
Other schools in Oldham
Medlock Valley Primary School ranks 54th of the 66 ranked primary schools in Oldham.
- Alexandra Park Junior School Primary
- Alt Academy Primary
- Bare Trees Primary School Primary
- Beal Vale Primary School Primary
- Beever Primary School Primary
- Blackshaw Lane Primary & Nursery School Primary
- Broadfield Primary School Primary
- Buckstones Primary School Primary
- Burnley Brow Community School Primary
- Christ Church CofE Primary School Primary
- Christ Church CofE Primary School Primary
- Coppice Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Medlock Valley Primary School teach?
- Medlock Valley Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Oldham.
- Who is the headteacher of Medlock Valley Primary School?
- The headteacher of Medlock Valley Primary School is Michael Ball & Joanne Backhouse, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Medlock Valley Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Medlock Valley 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 Medlock Valley Primary School?
- Medlock Valley Primary School has 337 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Medlock Valley Primary School full?
- Medlock Valley Primary School has capacity for 341 pupils and 337 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Medlock Valley Primary School a faith school?
- No. Medlock Valley Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Medlock Valley Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Medlock Valley Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is Medlock Valley Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Medlock Valley Primary School is part of KINGFISHER LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Medlock Valley Primary School have?
- The schools register lists Medlock Valley Primary School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Medlock Valley Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 55% in 2022/23 and 48% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Medlock Valley Primary School compare with other schools in Oldham?
- Medlock Valley Primary School ranked 58th of 71 primary schools in Oldham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 19% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Medlock Valley Primary School's absence rate?
- Medlock Valley Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Medlock Valley Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Medlock Valley 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 10 July 2026.