Elm House School, Cheadle
Elm House School is a special school for pupils aged 5 to 14 in Cheadle. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in April 2025.
- Ofsted
- Good (2025)
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Elm House School in detail
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other special schools to Elm House School are Sycamore Meadow Outdoor Learning Centre (1.7 miles); Draycott Moor College (2.7 miles, Good); Portland School (3.9 miles); and Compass Community School Staffordshire (4.7 miles, Good).
Sycamore Meadow Outdoor Learning CentreDraycott Moor CollegePortland SchoolCompass Community School Staffordshire
Who goes there
Almost every pupil at Elm House School has an education, health and care plan (5 of 5 in 2026).
Getting there
The nearest tram or metro stop is Kingsley & Froghall (Churnet Valley Railway), about 2.8 miles away in a straight line.
6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Cheadle Primary School (opposite), 110 metres away.
Sources: DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport)
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Safeguarding: effective
Independent school standards
Met all the independent school standards.
- Part 1: quality of educationMet
- Part 2: pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural developmentMet
- Part 3: welfare, health and safetyMet
- Part 4: suitability of staff and proprietorsMet
- Part 5: premises and accommodationMet
- Part 6: information for parentsMet
- Part 7: handling of complaintsMet
- Part 8: leadership and managementMet
Source: Ofsted, non-association independent schools inspections and outcomes (Open Government Licence)
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's April 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Elm House School excels at supporting pupils who have struggled in education before. The staff are genuinely caring and skilled at helping pupils with emotional and social difficulties, creating a real sense of belonging. Your child will enjoy learning here and have access to wonderful enrichment activities, from trips to places of worship to music festivals and careers experiences.
Key Strengths
- Staff have excellent relationships with pupils and deeply understand their individual needs, helping them feel safe and settled
- Strong focus on developing pupils' social, emotional and mental health support
- Broad, engaging curriculum with high-quality resources and well-equipped learning environments
- Impressive structured programme of trips and enrichment activities that broaden pupils' life experiences
- Effective structured phonics teaching that helps pupils with gaps in reading knowledge become confident readers
Areas for Improvement
- Pupils have gaps in basic writing and mathematics skills, including letter and number formation, which affects the fluency and accuracy of their work
- Staff sometimes provide too much support during lessons, which can make pupils overly reliant on help and limits their independence
- Need to give pupils more time and space to develop their own independent learning strategies
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with staff creating an open and positive culture that puts pupils' interests first.
Extracurricular Activities
School council, peer mentor roles, trips to places of worship, music festivals, local library visits, careers activities and work-related learning experiences
Elm House School is a special school for pupils aged 5-14 with social, emotional and mental health difficulties. The school provides a secure, caring environment where dedicated staff help pupils who have had negative education experiences to thrive and achieve well.
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby schools
Keep up with Elm House School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 12
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 4
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 12 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 4 serious and 8 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on a bicycle.
4 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Staffordshire is 5 (the median across 457 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
50%
Available places
5 pupils
10 places
5 spare places
as recorded on GIAS
Area Demand Pressure - Cheadle
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Cheadle
Across Staffordshire council
Places available
8,807
Applications
7,681
Got 1st preference
91.9%
Got preferred school
98.5%
All secondary applications across Staffordshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
0
SEN Support
5
EHC Plans
100.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Elm House School is not approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
No need-level breakdown available
Pupil Demographics
Key Indicators
5
Total Pupils
4
Boys
1
Girls
2026 academic year
Questions parents ask about Elm House School
What is Elm House School's Ofsted rating?
Elm House School was rated Good at its most recent Ofsted inspection in April 2025.
Does Elm House School meet the independent school standards?
At its most recent standard inspection, in April 2025, Elm House School met all the independent school standards.
How many pupils go to Elm House School?
Elm House School has around 5 pupils on roll.
Does Elm House School have specialist SEN provision?
Elm House School is not approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014.
How do I apply to Elm House School?
Elm House School is an independent school and runs its own admissions rather than going through the local authority. Contact the school directly for entry requirements, assessment dates, fees and any bursaries.
How many road collisions happen near Elm House School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 12 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 4 serious and 8 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on a bicycle. 4 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Staffordshire is 5 (the median across 457 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Elm House School?
Elm House School is at 15 Mill Road, Cheadle, Cheadle, ST10 1NG.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)