West Didsbury in Manchester Early years summary

Local area: West Didsbury

Local authority: Manchester

Summary

West Didsbury (E02001083) is part of Manchester local authority (view on map). West Didsbury has an approximate population of 8,300 people, of which 6.3% are children 5 years old and under. It is classified as "urban: nearer to a major town or city".

West Didsbury neighbours Chorlton South, Withington North & Old Moat, Beech Road & Chorlton Meadows, Withington West, Merseybank & Barlow Moor, and Didsbury Village.

Headlines for early years in Manchester

The data below is only available at local authority level

  • 8.8% of pupils are in receipt of the early years pupil premium in Manchester compared to 5.1% nationally. This places it among the top 10% of areas with pupils receiving the pupil premium
  • In Manchester, 78% of the funded places for 3-year-olds have been taken up, which is lower than the national at 88%. This places it among the bottom 10% of areas
  • The oral health measure indicated a higher than national proportion of visible tooth decay in 5-year-olds (38% compared to 22%), placing it in the top 10% of all areas in England. However only 4.9% of children were examined
Guidance and data sources

Local area pages are based on the middle-layer super output areas (MSOAs) distributed across the country. MSOAs comprise between 2,000 and 6,000 households and have a resident population of, generally, between 5,000 and 15,000 people. MSOAs fit within local authorities. For each area, descriptive statistics are compared with local authority and national averages. For more information about MSOAs, please visit the Office for National Statistics website.

The data displayed is sourced from:

Deprivation

West Didsbury is the 9th least deprived area in Manchester (out of 59) with 28% of children living in low-income families, compared to 58% across Manchester and 38% nationally.

Data source

Provider information

Registered childcare providers

West Didsbury has 6 registered childcare providers.

Type Number in West Didsbury
All childcare providers 6
Childminders 1
Pre-school/day nursery/out-of-school care 5

In West Didsbury, there has been 1 full inspection of childcare providers since the introduction of the renewed education inspection framework in November 2025.

Achievement: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: 1 was graded 'strong standard' (of 1).

Children's welfare and wellbeing: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).

Curriculum and teaching: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).

Inclusion: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).

Leadership and governance: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).

The tables below show the outcomes of inspections of childcare providers in West Didsbury. The tables are split by provider type, and show the number of inspections that have taken place for each area, and the outcomes of those inspections.

Contents

All childcare

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Achievement 1 0 0 1 0 0
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines 1 0 1 0 0 0
Children's welfare and wellbeing 1 0 0 1 0 0
Curriculum and teaching 1 0 0 1 0 0
Inclusion 1 0 0 1 0 0
Leadership and governance 1 0 0 1 0 0

Childminders

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Achievement 1 0 0 1 0 0
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines 1 0 1 0 0 0
Children's welfare and wellbeing 1 0 0 1 0 0
Curriculum and teaching 1 0 0 1 0 0
Inclusion 1 0 0 1 0 0
Leadership and governance 1 0 0 1 0 0

Pre-school/day nursery/out-of-school care

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Achievement 0 0 0 0 0 0
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines 0 0 0 0 0 0
Children's welfare and wellbeing 0 0 0 0 0 0
Curriculum and teaching 0 0 0 0 0 0
Inclusion 0 0 0 0 0 0
Leadership and governance 0 0 0 0 0 0

Data source

Summary of Ofsted findings

Summary of Ofsted findings

Inspection of Manchester’s local authority children’s services

These inspections focus on the effectiveness of local authority services and arrangements:

  • to help and protect children, and enable families to stay together and get the help they need
  • the experiences and progress of children in care wherever they live, including those children who return home
  • the arrangements for permanence for children who are looked after, in stable, loving homes, including adoption
  • the experiences and progress of care leavers.
Inspection type Inspection start date Overall effectiveness Impact of leaders Help and protection Children in care Care leavers
ILACS Standard Inspection 22 September 2025 Outstanding Outstanding Good Outstanding Outstanding

Data source

Area SEND inspection of Manchester Local Area Partnership

The purpose of an area SEND inspection is to:

  • provide an independent, external evaluation of the effectiveness of the local area partnership’s arrangements for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)
  • where appropriate, recommend what the local area partnership should do to improve the arrangements.
Inspection outcome

Manchester local area partnership has not yet been inspected under the current area SEND framework.

Data source

Joint targeted area inspection of Manchester local authority

The agencies for these inspections can include the police, children’s social care, probation services, education and relevant health services. Inspectors will also evaluate how local agencies work with education and childcare providers. The focus of these inspections is how effectively the local safeguarding partners work together at the practice and strategic levels.

Theme Inspection start date Link
Serious youth violence 9 October 2023 Link

Data source

Early years population

Contents

Percentage of West Didsbury population by age group

Table showing percentage of West Didsbury population by age group

% in West Didsbury % in Manchester % National
Age 5 and under 6.3% 7.1% 6.4%
Under 1 year 1.4% 1.1% 1.0%
1 year 1.4% 1.2% 1.0%
2 years 1.0% 1.2% 1.1%
3 years 0.9% 1.1% 1.1%
4 years 0.9% 1.2% 1.1%
5 years 0.7% 1.2% 1.1%

Data source

Local authority context

Early years pupil premium

In Manchester, 8.8% of children are receiving the early years pupil premium, compared to 5.1% nationally.

8.8% of pupils are in receipt of the early years pupil premium in Manchester compared to 5.1% nationally. This places it among the top 10% of areas with pupils receiving the pupil premium.

Contents

Percentage of children in receipt of early years pupil premium

Table showing the percentage of children in receipt of early years pupil premium

Number in Manchester % in Manchester % National
Receiving pupil premium 3,659 8.8% 5.1%

Data source

Children looked after

The percentage of 'children looked after' in Manchester is 0.7% for under 1 year olds and 0.6% for 1 to 4 year olds. The national average is 0.6% for under 1 year olds and 0.4% for 1 to 4 year olds.

Contents

Table showing percentage of children looked after in Manchester

Number in Manchester % in Manchester % National
Children looked after (under 1 year) 49 0.7% 0.6%
Children looked after (aged 1 to 4 years) 156 0.6% 0.4%

Percentage of children looked after in Manchester

Data source

Special educational needs and disabilities in state-funded schools

This data is taken from the school census data for children aged 5 and under with special educational needs and disabilities in state-funded settings.

In Manchester, 5.5% of children aged 5 and under receive SEN support in state-funded settings and 1.8% have an EHC plan, compared to 4.5% and 1.4% nationally.

Contents

Percentage of children with SEND in state-funded settings by age group

Table showing percentage of children with SEND in state-funded settings by age group

Number in Manchester % in Manchester % National
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (age 5 and under) 2,275 5.5% 4.5%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (under 2 years) 27 0.1% 0.3%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (3 years) 447 6.7% 3.7%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (4 years) 849 12% 9.2%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (5 years) 952 13% 12%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (age 5 and under) 749 1.8% 1.4%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (under 2 years) 0 0% 0%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (3 years) 10 0.2% 0.3%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (4 years) 218 3.0% 3.1%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (5 years) 521 7.3% 4.8%

Data source

Education, health and care plans

This data is taken from the local authority level data for children aged 5 and under issued with an education, health and care (EHC) plan in Manchester.

In Manchester, 1.9% of children aged 5 and under have an EHC plan, compared to 1.6% nationally.

Contents

Percentage of children with an EHCP in Manchester by age group

Table showing percentage of children with an EHCP in Manchester by age group

Number in Manchester % in Manchester % National
Total: Children with an EHCP (age 5 and under) 802 1.9% 1.6%
Total: Children with an EHCP (under 2 years) 0 0% 0%
Total: Children with an EHCP (3 years) 19 0.3% 0.8%
Total: Children with an EHCP (4 years) 249 3.5% 3.4%
Total: Children with an EHCP (5 years) 534 7.5% 5.0%

Data source

Early years funded takeup

In Manchester, take-up of funded early years places is 74% for 2-year-olds, 78% for 3-year-olds, and 86% for 4-year-olds, compared to 72%, 88%, and 93% nationally.

In Manchester, 78% of the funded places for 3-year-olds have been taken up, which is lower than the national at 88%. This places it among the bottom 10% of areas.

Contents

Percentage of eligible children taking up funded early years places

Table showing percentage of eligible children taking up funded early years places

Funded early years places for 2-year-olds Number of eligible 2-year-olds % of population aged 2 % take-up of funded places
Manchester 1,756 25% 74%
National 119,598 19% 72%
Funded early years places for 3-year-olds Number of eligible 3-year-olds % of population aged 3 % take-up of funded places
Manchester All 3-year olds are eligible 78%
National 88%
Funded early years places for 4-year-olds Number of eligible 4-year-olds % of population aged 4 % take-up of funded places
Manchester All 4-year olds are eligible 86%
National 93%
The 2-, 3-, and 4-year-old funded places tables look different because they measure different things; funded places for 2-year-olds are only for children considered to be disadvantaged, while for 3- and 4-year-olds everyone is entitled to a funded place.

Data source

Children's overweight and obesity

In Manchester, 25% of reception-age children are overweight or obese, compared to 24% nationally.

Contents

Percentage of reception-age children overweight or obese

Table showing percentage of reception-age children overweight or obese

Number in Manchester % in Manchester % National
Children's overweight and obesity (reception-age children) 1,445 25% 24%

Data source

Oral health

In Manchester, 38% of children aged 5 have visible tooth decay (oral health issues) compared to 22% nationally.

The oral health measure indicated a higher than national proportion of visible tooth decay in 5-year-olds (38% compared to 22%), placing it in the top 10% of all areas in England. However only 4.9% of children were examined.

Contents

Percentage of 5-year-olds with visible tooth decay

Table showing percentage of 5-year-olds with visible tooth decay

Number examined in Manchester % examined in Manchester % in Manchester % National
Oral health (visible tooth decay in 5-year-olds) 349 4.9% 38% 22%

Data source