The Birches School
Special / other · Manchester · M20 2XZ
Data updated
Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system
This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.
Inspected 14 May 2024
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
168 pupils (January 2026 census)
- School type
- Community special school
- Age range
- 4–11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Free school meals
- 60.1% of pupils (January 2026)
- English as additional language
- 55.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
- SEN support
- 0% of pupils (2024/2025)
- EHC plan
- 100% of pupils (2024/2025)
- Website
- www.thebirchesschool.org
- URN
- 105613
In figures
Ofsted last graded it Good on 14 May 2024, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 11.7% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.
Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)
28 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025
No pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (0%). Key stage 2 tests measure the age-11 curriculum; most pupils at special schools are assessed under other frameworks, so 97% of special schools publish 0% here.
Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means National averages are not shown here. The England figures are dominated by mainstream schools, and pupils at a special school are working towards outcomes those measures were not designed to capture, so the comparison would mislead more than it tells you.
Special educational needs
Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.
- Speech, Language and Communication Needs
- Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Severe Learning Difficulty
- Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)
Asian Pakistani 26% (Manchester 13%, England 4%) · White British 19% (Manchester 40%, England 66%) · Black African 17% (Manchester 10%, England 5%) · Any other ethnic group 8% (Manchester 5%, England 2%) · Not recorded 6% (Manchester 3%, England 2%) · Any other Black background 5% (Manchester 4%, England 1%) · Any other Asian background 4% (Manchester 3%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 3% (Manchester 2%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black African 3% (Manchester 2%, England 1%) · Any other White background 2% (Manchester 3%, England 4%) · Asian Bangladeshi 2% (Manchester 2%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Manchester 6%, England 3%) · Asian Indian 1% (Manchester 1%, England 2%) · Black Caribbean 1% (Manchester 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Manchester 4%, England 2%)
Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures
Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)
Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)
0.00 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, special schools: 12.32 suspensions and 0.08 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Manchester: 1.22 suspensions and 0.00 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils
Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions
Staffing
Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.
Teacher retention (2024/25)
88% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 8% moved to another state school · 4% left the state-funded sector
Vacancies (November 2025)
0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, special schools and PRUs: 0.68% vacant, 1.02% temporary
Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)
88.9% of teachers took sickness absence, 8.5 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days
Teacher pay (November 2025)
Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £52,737; 20% on the leadership pay range · England, special schools and PRUs: £53,604, 18.3%
Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted
Spending per pupil (2025-26)
Where the money went (2025-26)
Share of spending, with the median for special schools in brackets: Staff 85% (81%) · premises 4% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 4% (4%) · supplies and services 6% (9%) · educational supplies 2% (3%) · bought-in professional services 4% (4%) · catering 2% (2%)
Reserves (2025-26)
Revenue reserve £295,053; in-year balance +£4,234
Spending and reserves, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared
Inspection history since 2015
- 14 May 2024: Good
- 1 November 2016: Yes - improving (outstanding)
Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems
The area around the school
- Child poverty (IDACI)
- 10/10among the least deprived tenth of England
- Overall deprivation (IMD)
- 9/10among the least deprived fifth of England
| Census 2021 | This area | England |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with a degree or higher | 76.4% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 3.1% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 61.1% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 9.3% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 60.2% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 36.4% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 2.2% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 61.4% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 4.7% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 71.1% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 21.2% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 32.5% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01005083 · how to read area figures
What homes cost nearby
- Median sale price
- £325,000665 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
- Typical range
- £236,000–£479,000the middle half of sales
- England median
- £300,000all sales over the same period
Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.
Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Roads around the school
- Child pedestrian casualties
- 0an urban school averages 2.0
- Collisions at school-run times
- 2an urban school averages 5.7
- All reported collisions
- 16an urban school averages 30.5
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 4an urban school averages 6.1
A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted