St Martin's CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School Review 2026: A Church of England primary with strong KS2 outcomes

A values-led Church of England primary in Fitton Hill, St Martin’s puts character education and academic basics side by side, with a clear emphasis on kindness, responsibility, and pupil voice. Mrs Helen Woodward is the executive headteacher, and has held that role since September 2014.

The most recent inspection (October 2024) reported Good judgements for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and early years provision, with personal development graded Outstanding.

Demand is healthy for a school of this size. For the primary entry route shown in the latest admissions dataset, there were 49 applications and 29 offers, which equates to 1.69 applications per place, and an oversubscribed picture.

The school’s identity is built around its SHINE mission and its Christian framing, including a prominent biblical theme, Let Your Light Shine (Matthew 5:16). That translates into a culture where pupils are encouraged to take responsibility, develop independence, and contribute to the wider life of the school, rather than simply comply with rules.

There is also a deliberate emphasis on inclusion and respect. The school explains how it promotes mutual respect through specific whole-school practices, including Stonewall Champions School activity, “Family Time” sessions, links with other schools, and structured pupil leadership and group work. This matters for parents who want to understand whether “values” are just branding, or whether they shape routines and expectations.

Pastoral leadership is visible in the published staffing structure. Alongside senior leadership, the school lists a named wellbeing and safeguarding lead and a mental health practitioner, which signals a proactive approach to early help, attendance, and family support.

For families weighing up local primary options, the headline is that attainment is high in the most recent published Key Stage 2 dataset. In reading, writing, and mathematics combined, 93% reached the expected standard. England’s average is 62%, which provides clear context for how far above typical performance this sits. At the higher standard, 25.67% reached the higher threshold, compared with an England average of 8%.

The scaled scores reinforce the same picture: 109 in reading and 107 in mathematics, with 107 in grammar, punctuation, and spelling. These are strong signals of secure basics, not just borderline threshold results.

Rankings in this review use proprietary FindMySchool calculations based on official data. Ranked 2,133rd in England and 9th in Oldham for primary outcomes, the school sits above England average, placing it comfortably within the top 25% of schools in England.

Parents comparing nearby schools can use the FindMySchool Local Hub page and Comparison Tool to see these measures side by side, particularly the expected standard figure and the higher standard rate, which often separate “solid” schools from genuinely high-attaining ones.

The curriculum is planned as a continuous journey from Nursery through to Year 6, with careful sequencing designed to help pupils remember more over time. For parents, that usually shows up in two practical ways: consistent vocabulary and concepts across year groups, and clearer expectations about what “good work” looks like in each subject.

Reading is treated as a core pillar. The school promotes a wide range of texts, and early reading foundations begin in Nursery through sound awareness and rhyme, building into fluency and confidence as pupils move into Reception and beyond. Targeted support is in place for pupils who find reading difficult.

The inspection narrative also highlights two improvement priorities that are worth understanding as a parent. First, delivery is not equally precise in every subject, which can lead to avoidable errors for a small number of pupils. Second, spoken language and the consistent embedding of subject vocabulary is an area the school is working to strengthen, so that pupils can articulate and extend their learning more confidently.

As a state primary, transition is primarily shaped by the Oldham coordinated admissions process and the family’s chosen secondary preferences. The practical takeaway is that Year 6 families should plan early, especially if they are considering faith-based pathways or schools with tight catchment pressure elsewhere in the borough.

The school’s wider emphasis on confidence, responsibility, and pupil leadership should transfer well into secondary settings where independence and organisation become more demanding from Year 7.

Reception entry is coordinated by Oldham Council, with the September 2026 application window opening on 01 September 2025 and closing at 5pm on 15 January 2026. National Offer Day notifications are set for 16 April 2026, with late admissions processes continuing into July.

Demand indicators in the latest admissions dataset suggest competition for places. There were 49 applications for 29 offers for the primary entry route listed, and the dataset records the school as oversubscribed (1.69 applications per place). If you are moving into the area or relying on proximity, it is sensible to treat admission as competitive and to keep contingency options.

Families who want to sanity-check their chances should use the FindMySchool Map Search to measure home-to-school distance accurately, then compare that with recent local patterns and criteria published by Oldham.

Nursery provision is part of the school offer. The published school-day timetable indicates a morning Nursery session (8:45am to 11:45am), which is useful for working families planning wraparound arrangements.

Pastoral support is structured rather than informal. The staffing list includes a wellbeing and safeguarding lead, a pastoral lead, and access to a mental health practitioner, which suggests that early support and communication with families is embedded into how the school runs.

Breakfast provision is another practical wellbeing lever. Breakfast Club operates daily from 8:00am, supported by Magic Breakfast, and the school also describes free bagels at the start of the day. That is particularly relevant for parents thinking about punctuality, readiness to learn, and household routines.

For a Church of England school, faith is not treated as a bolt-on. Religious education is described as central, with Christianity taught explicitly while also covering major world faiths, which helps pupils build literacy around belief and culture without narrowing the curriculum.

Clubs are a genuine feature here, with the school listing a broad menu across sport, performance, and practical skills. Examples include Street Dance, Taekwondo, cheerleading, cookery, boxing, circuit training, and Pop Dance, alongside opportunities such as gifted and talented singing led by the music teacher.

For parents, the value is not just “variety”, it is access. The school states that clubs offered that year were free of charge for families, which can materially widen participation for pupils who might not otherwise try activities like dance or martial arts.

The wider personal development offer is treated seriously, with carefully planned experiences and a culture of listening to pupil interests, including creating clubs in response to what pupils ask for. This kind of responsiveness tends to suit children who gain confidence through performance, sport, and responsibility roles, not only through classroom outcomes.

The published school-day timetable sets Nursery as a morning session (8:45am to 11:45am) and Reception to Year 6 as 8:45am to 3:15pm, aligned to a 32.5 hour week. Breakfast Club opens at 8:00am, with an advice note for arriving before 8:15am.

Wraparound childcare beyond Breakfast Club is not clearly set out in the published pages reviewed, so families who need after-school care should ask directly about current provision, costs, and collection times.

For travel, most families will be operating within Fitton Hill and wider Oldham. If you plan to drive, allow time for typical school-run congestion on residential roads and confirm current drop-off expectations with the school.

• Oversubscription pressure. The latest entry-route dataset shows 49 applications for 29 offers, and an oversubscribed status. If you are applying from outside the immediate area, keep realistic alternatives in your plan.

• Nursery hours are morning-based in the published timetable. Nursery runs 8:45am to 11:45am, which can be ideal for some families but may require additional childcare cover for others.

• Teaching consistency and oracy are active improvement areas. The most recent inspection points to variability in how precisely parts of the curriculum are taught, and to strengthening spoken language and vocabulary work so pupils can articulate learning more confidently.

• Faith is integral. This is a Church of England school with an explicitly Christian framing and a central RE curriculum. Families should be comfortable with that ethos as part of daily life.

St Martin’s CofE Junior Infant and Nursery School combines a clear faith-led identity with strong KS2 performance indicators and a deliberate focus on personal development. The published structure for wellbeing support and the practical breakfast provision will appeal to families who want both pastoral clarity and strong routines.

Best suited to families who value a Church of England ethos, want high attainment expectations, and like the idea of structured pupil leadership and clubs that build confidence. Admission remains the main constraint, so treat the application as competitive and plan early.