Moorside High School Review 2026, Oversubscribed Salford academy with a clear behaviour and house culture

This is a large, mixed 11 to 16 secondary in Swinton that combines a structured school day with a strong pastoral framework. The house system is not decorative, it is used to build identity, run inter-house competitions, and create leadership routes for students from Year 7 onwards.

Leadership has been stable in recent years, with Mrs Helen Ryles-Dean permanently appointed as headteacher from 01 April 2022.

On the accountability side, the most recent Ofsted inspection (9 and 10 March 2022) confirmed the school continues to be Good and that safeguarding arrangements are effective.

A school of this size lives or dies by routines, and the published structures here are unusually explicit. The formal day runs from 08:30 to 14:55, with six one hour teaching periods broken by a morning break and a split lunch and tutor time structure for different year groups. Students are expected on site from 08:25, with access from 08:00 for breakfast.

The pastoral model reinforces that day-to-day structure. Every student belongs to a house named after notable Salford figures, Egerton, Joule, Lowry, and Pankhurst, and the school uses this as the organising unit for assemblies, fundraising, and competitions that culminate in Sports Day.

The values language is also consistent across materials. The school frames its expectations around C.A.R.E (consideration, aspiration, resilience, equality), which is then translated into routines, tutor oversight, and intervention support when students fall behind academically or behaviourally.

The picture from the latest available dataset is mixed, with some indicators suggesting the school is working against significant headwinds.

For GCSE outcomes, the school is ranked 2,839th in England and 62nd in the Manchester area for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data). This places performance below the England average, within the lower 40% of schools in England.

On attainment, the school’s Attainment 8 score is 42.8. Progress 8 sits at -0.59, indicating that, on average, students make less progress than pupils with similar starting points nationally. Ebacc average point score is 3.57. The percentage achieving grades 5 or above across the Ebacc elements is 5.4%.

For parents, the implication is practical rather than abstract. Where Progress 8 is negative, the experience tends to be more dependent on the quality of teaching consistency between subjects, the effectiveness of assessment and feedback, and how rapidly leaders can tighten curriculum sequencing in weaker areas.

The inspection evidence aligns with that interpretation. Curriculum review work was described as positive and ongoing, with strong practice in many subjects but less clarity in a small number of areas where leaders needed sharper sequencing and better use of assessment to identify misconceptions.

The curriculum story is best understood as a school deliberately trying to make learning more cumulative. Leaders put the English Baccalaureate subject suite at the centre of the key stage 4 offer, and strengthened parts of the key stage 3 programme, including modern foreign languages.

Where curriculum thinking is clear, the intended learning sequence is mapped and revisited, which supports retention and reduces the common secondary problem of pupils “moving on” without secure foundations. Where that thinking is less clear, the risk is predictable, teachers do not share a consistent view of what “key knowledge” is, assessment misses misconceptions, and gaps widen over time. The improvement priority is therefore not about adding initiatives, it is about making the remaining subjects as coherently planned as the strongest ones.

Reading also appears to be treated as a whole-school responsibility. Pupils read regularly, and those at an earlier stage benefit from a catch-up approach designed to help them access the wider curriculum.

As an 11 to 16 school, the primary transition point is post-16. The school emphasises careers education and guidance, and the inspection evidence points to a well-designed careers programme and a strong emphasis on preparing pupils for education, employment or training after Year 11.

For families, the key question to explore is how post-16 planning is personalised. A strong system typically includes early exposure in lower years, structured employer encounters, and targeted guidance in Year 10 and Year 11 so that applications to sixth forms, colleges, apprenticeships, and vocational routes are not left to the final term.

Demand is clearly high. For the most recent available admissions cycle there were 556 applications for 200 offers, which equates to 2.78 applications per place. First preference demand also exceeded available offers, with a first preference ratio of 1.34.

For September 2026 entry, the local authority application window opened on 01 September 2025 and closed on 31 October 2025, with offers published on 02 March 2026. Late applications are processed after on-time applications, which can materially reduce the likelihood of securing a preferred school.

A practical tip is to treat admissions as a risk management exercise. Use the FindMySchool Map Search to check your exact home-to-gate distance and to sense-check likely competition in your area, then list multiple realistic preferences rather than assuming one option will work out.

Pastoral care is organised around a form tutor as first contact, supported by heads of year and wider safeguarding and SEND support. Mixed-ability form groups and routine progress monitoring are designed to spot issues early and coordinate interventions rather than waiting for problems to escalate.

Safeguarding information is published with named roles. The designated safeguarding lead is Miss Drinkwater, supported by a deputy safeguarding lead (Mr Webb) and wider staff training, including heads of year trained to a safeguarding level.

The inspection narrative supports a positive day-to-day climate, pupils feeling safe, bullying concerns being dealt with quickly, and a calm environment with few interruptions.

The extracurricular offer is more specific than many schools publish, and it spans sport, creative activity, and academic enrichment.

From the September 2025 timetable, examples include Journalism, Debate Club, Book Club, History Club, Cookery Club, Crochet Club, Coding Club and Minecraft, Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer Club, and Pride club.

Academic extension opportunities are also explicit. Students can take part in the UKMT Maths Challenge and the National Cipher Challenge, which are well-regarded national competitions that reward persistence and problem solving rather than rote learning.

Sport is present with both inclusive and team-focused routes, including netball, rugby, girls’ rugby, basketball, and multiple year-group football sessions using field and astroturf spaces.

A distinctive feature is the Consilium Enrichment Passport, which links participation in clubs, competitions, and performances to Bronze, Silver, and Gold recognition. That matters because it provides a visible incentive for students who might otherwise disengage from optional activities, and it helps parents see a coherent enrichment pathway rather than a loose list of clubs.

The school day runs 08:30 to 14:55, with students expected to arrive from 08:25 and access from 08:00 for breakfast. Most intervention and extracurricular sessions run to around 16:00, so after-school supervision can extend beyond the formal day for many students even without a traditional primary-style wraparound model.

• Progress trend and consistency. With a Progress 8 score of -0.59, families should ask how the school is tightening consistency between subjects, particularly in assessment and catching misconceptions early.

• Competition for places. Recent demand data indicates 2.78 applications per place, so families should plan for the possibility of an alternative offer and list multiple preferences.

• Behaviour system is structured. The Behaviour for Learning model is explicit about consequences and uses lesson-by-lesson grading. This clarity can suit students who respond well to firm routines; those who struggle with frequent sanctions may need strong family-school alignment to make it work.

Moorside High School is an oversubscribed Salford academy that leans heavily into clarity: a defined school day, a clear behaviour framework, and a house system used to build identity and responsibility. The most recent inspection evidence indicates a safe and orderly environment, with curriculum improvement work underway and safeguarding embedded in daily practice.

Who it suits: families looking for a structured secondary with strong pastoral organisation, clear expectations, and a published enrichment offer that gives students multiple ways to belong. Securing admission is the practical challenge, and the academic picture suggests parents should look closely at how the school is improving progress across all subjects.