Littleborough West & Wardle in Rochdale Early years summary

Local area: Littleborough West & Wardle

Local authority: Rochdale

Summary

Littleborough West & Wardle (E02001133) is part of Rochdale local authority (view on map). Littleborough West & Wardle has an approximate population of 6,700 people, of which 6.2% are children 5 years old and under. It is classified as "urban: nearer to a major town or city".

Littleborough West & Wardle neighbours Littleborough North & Calderbook, Littleborough South & Smithy Bridge, Hurstead & Smallbridge, Healey, Syke & Shawclough, Todmorden East & Walsden, and Whitworth.

Headlines for early years in Rochdale

The data below is only available at local authority level

  • In Rochdale, 58% of the funded places for 2-year-olds have been taken up, which is lower than the national at 72%. This places it among the bottom 10% of areas
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

Littleborough West & Wardle is the 5th least deprived area in Rochdale (out of 25) with 24% of children living in low-income families, compared to 49% across Rochdale and 38% nationally.

Data source

Provider information

Registered childcare providers

Littleborough West & Wardle has 7 registered childcare providers.

Type Number in Littleborough West & Wardle
All childcare providers 7
Childminders 4
Pre-school/day nursery/out-of-school care 3

In Littleborough West & Wardle, there have been 3 full inspections 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: 2 were graded 'expected standard' (of 2).

Children's welfare and wellbeing: 2 were graded 'expected standard' (of 2).

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

Inclusion: 2 were graded 'expected standard' (of 2).

Leadership and governance: 2 were graded 'expected standard', and 1 was graded 'urgent improvement' (of 3).

The tables below show the outcomes of inspections of childcare providers in Littleborough West & Wardle. 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 2 0 0 2 0 0
Children's welfare and wellbeing 2 0 0 2 0 0
Curriculum and teaching 1 0 0 1 0 0
Inclusion 2 0 0 2 0 0
Leadership and governance 3 0 0 2 0 1

Childminders

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 1 0 0 0 0 1

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

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Achievement 1 0 0 1 0 0
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines 2 0 0 2 0 0
Children's welfare and wellbeing 2 0 0 2 0 0
Curriculum and teaching 1 0 0 1 0 0
Inclusion 2 0 0 2 0 0
Leadership and governance 2 0 0 2 0 0

Data source

Summary of Ofsted findings

Summary of Ofsted findings

Inspection of Rochdale’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 23 January 2023 Requires improvement to be good Requires improvement to be good Requires improvement to be good Requires improvement to be good Requires improvement to be good

Data source

Area SEND inspection of Rochdale 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

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

Data source

Joint targeted area inspection of Rochdale 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
No theme 22 April 2024 Link

Data source

Early years population

Contents

Percentage of Littleborough West & Wardle population by age group

Table showing percentage of Littleborough West & Wardle population by age group

% in Littleborough West & Wardle % in Rochdale % National
Age 5 and under 6.2% 7.7% 6.4%
Under 1 year 1.0% 1.2% 1.0%
1 year 0.8% 1.2% 1.0%
2 years 1.0% 1.3% 1.1%
3 years 1.0% 1.3% 1.1%
4 years 1.1% 1.3% 1.1%
5 years 1.4% 1.4% 1.1%

Data source

Local authority context

Early years pupil premium

In Rochdale, 7.5% of children are receiving the early years pupil premium, compared to 5.1% nationally.

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 Rochdale % in Rochdale % National
Receiving pupil premium 1,373 7.5% 5.1%

Data source

Children looked after

The percentage of 'children looked after' in Rochdale is 0.5% for under 1 year olds and 0.7% 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 Rochdale

Number in Rochdale % in Rochdale % National
Children looked after (under 1 year) 15 0.5% 0.6%
Children looked after (aged 1 to 4 years) 90 0.7% 0.4%

Percentage of children looked after in Rochdale

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 Rochdale, 5.2% of children aged 5 and under receive SEN support in state-funded settings and 1.7% 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 Rochdale % in Rochdale % National
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (age 5 and under) 944 5.2% 4.5%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (under 2 years) 9 0.1% 0.3%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (3 years) 126 4.1% 3.7%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (4 years) 367 12% 9.2%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (5 years) 442 14% 12%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (age 5 and under) 303 1.7% 1.4%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (under 2 years) 0 0% 0%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (3 years) 10 0.3% 0.3%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (4 years) 110 3.5% 3.1%
Total: EHCPs in state-funded settings (5 years) 183 5.7% 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 Rochdale.

In Rochdale, 2.1% of children aged 5 and under have an EHC plan, compared to 1.6% nationally.

Contents

Percentage of children with an EHCP in Rochdale by age group

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

Number in Rochdale % in Rochdale % National
Total: Children with an EHCP (age 5 and under) 378 2.1% 1.6%
Total: Children with an EHCP (under 2 years) 4 0% 0%
Total: Children with an EHCP (3 years) 50 1.6% 0.8%
Total: Children with an EHCP (4 years) 121 3.8% 3.4%
Total: Children with an EHCP (5 years) 203 6.3% 5.0%

Data source

Early years funded takeup

In Rochdale, take-up of funded early years places is 58% for 2-year-olds, 90% for 3-year-olds, and 91% for 4-year-olds, compared to 72%, 88%, and 93% nationally.

In Rochdale, 58% of the funded places for 2-year-olds have been taken up, which is lower than the national at 72%. 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
Rochdale 804 25% 58%
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
Rochdale All 3-year olds are eligible 90%
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
Rochdale All 4-year olds are eligible 91%
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 Rochdale, 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 Rochdale % in Rochdale % National
Children's overweight and obesity (reception-age children) 655 25% 24%

Data source

Oral health

In Rochdale, 32% of children aged 5 have visible tooth decay (oral health issues) compared to 22% nationally.

Contents

Percentage of 5-year-olds with visible tooth decay

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

Number examined in Rochdale % examined in Rochdale % in Rochdale % National
Oral health (visible tooth decay in 5-year-olds) 410 13% 32% 22%

Data source