Great Budworth CofE Primary School

Great Budworth CofE Primary School has been judged to require special measures after the May 2026 inspection. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils are polite, welcoming, proud of their school and benefit from a kind, Christian-ethos environment with positive relationships. Attendance is improving after recent focused action but remains a serious concern: overall absence and persistent absence are well above national averages, and improvements are not yet consistent. Behaviour is generally calm, though routines and expectations, especially in the early years, are not applied consistently. The inspection found urgent improvement needed in achievement, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, and leadership and governance. Learning is fragmented from the early years to Year 6, gaps and misconceptions persist, attainment is below national averages in several areas, particularly mathematics, and many pupils, including those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, do not make sufficient progress. The curriculum lacks clarity and progression in several subjects, assessment is not precise, and support for pupils with SEND is largely ineffective. Early years provision does not meet legal requirements and does not give children secure foundations. Recent leadership changes have brought some clarity, and staff are positive about the new approach, but leadership capacity is limited by staffing turbulence and weak governance has not secured timely improvement. The school is a small federation school, and new executive and head of school appointments are recent. Governors must fulfil statutory duties, develop leadership capacity, sharpen monitoring on impact, improve SEND and disadvantaged provision, sequence the curriculum, secure essential reading, writing and mathematics knowledge, and continue reducing absence.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture in which pupils feel safe.
• Pupils are polite, welcoming and respectful, forming warm friendships across year groups.
• Behaviour is generally calm, and staff deal promptly with incidents, including uncommon bullying.
• Pupils are proud of their school and value its kind, welcoming Christian ethos and family feel.
• Leaders provide a broad personal development programme covering relationships, safety, inclusion and enrichment.
• Pupils learn about online and offline risks, including how to cycle safely on the road.
• Pupils are ambitious for their futures and have an awareness of future pathways.
• Pupils enjoy community activities, residential visits, clubs, leadership roles and the school council.
• Support for pupils’ wellbeing creates an emotionally supportive environment.
• Recent leadership changes have brought greater clarity, and staff feel motivated and positive about the new approach.
• Engagement with parents and carers is positive.
• Reading attainment has been above the national average over the latest three-year period.

Areas for Improvement

• The school requires special measures because it is failing to provide an acceptable standard of education.
• Leaders and governors are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement.
• Overall absence and persistent absence remain well above national averages.
• Attendance improvements are new and not applied consistently, with some pupils still missing school too often.
• Routines and expectations are not applied consistently, particularly in the early years.
• Behaviour and engagement approaches are not always adapted precisely for pupils with additional needs.
• Personal development impact is not evaluated well, and pupils’ understanding is often superficial.
• Achievement is weak: learning is fragmented from the early years to Year 6 and gaps persist.
• Attainment remains below national averages in several areas, particularly mathematics.
• Many pupils, including those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, do not make sufficient progress.
• Curriculum design lacks clarity and progression in several subjects.
• There is no defined early years curriculum, preventing children from establishing secure foundations.
• In mixed-age classes, tasks often remain the same for all pupils, limiting challenge and progression.
• Curriculum implementation is ineffective, with misconceptions unaddressed and activities mismatched to pupils’ starting points.
• Assessment strategies lack precision and do not shape future teaching.
• Pupils with SEND do not receive the support they need, and support is largely ineffective.
• Leaders do not identify, assess or meet pupils’ needs with sufficient precision, including for disadvantaged pupils.
• Early years leadership lacks precision and oversight, and legal requirements are not met.
• Children leave the early years without secure foundations in communication, early mathematics, independence and self-regulation.
• Governance is weak, does not provide effective challenge, and has not secured timely improvement.
• Leadership capacity is limited by staffing turbulence, and monitoring does not evaluate impact rigorously.
• Professional development does not build staff expertise sufficiently well.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Great Budworth CofE Primary School attended 85.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 53.6% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at Great Budworth CofE Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Great Budworth CofE Primary School had 18.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 35.7% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 10.8% of pupils at Great Budworth CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Great Budworth CofE Primary School received £7,962 and spent £8,645 for each of its 127 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £51,000 (-£407 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). This school files a single return with the other schools in its federation, so the figures are for the whole federation.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Northwich · Cheshire West and Chester local authority: places and applications

What is Great Budworth CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Great Budworth CofE Primary School is Urgent improvement, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Great Budworth CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Great Budworth CofE Primary School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Great Budworth CofE Primary School have?

Great Budworth CofE Primary School has 37 pupils on roll.

What age range does Great Budworth CofE Primary School cover?

Great Budworth CofE Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Great Budworth CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 33% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Great Budworth CofE Primary School?

Great Budworth CofE Primary School is at School Lane, Great Budworth, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 6HQ.