Bollington St John's CofE Primary School

Bollington St John's CofE Primary School is a small Church of England primary school. In its September 2026 full inspection, inspectors found the school meeting the expected standard across the areas inspected, with safeguarding standards met. Pupils are described as safe, polite and well behaved, and they benefit from an inclusive, nurturing culture in which staff know them well. Attendance is a priority and persistent absence has fallen. The school's early years provision, including a new nursery, is well led, and the curriculum is ambitious and logically sequenced. Most pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, develop secure knowledge and achieve well from their starting points. Leaders have strengthened early reading, phonics and number, and staff generally use assessment well and adapt teaching to support pupils with SEND. Inclusion is a clear strength, with effective support for pupils' social and emotional needs and good use of additional funding to broaden opportunities for disadvantaged pupils. Personal development is central to the school's ethos: pupils take on leadership roles, learn about global issues and benefit from a wide range of extracurricular activities. Governance is effective, staff feel well supported, and relationships with parents and external agencies are productive. Over time, key stage 2 outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics are close to national averages, although the latest published figures for combined reading, writing and mathematics and for reading and mathematics were below national averages. The main areas for improvement are in mathematics and in spelling and handwriting. Expectations in mathematics are not consistently high enough, and some activities do not give pupils sufficient opportunity to deepen their learning; this is reflected in the proportion of pupils attaining the higher standard in mathematics at the end of Year 6, which is below the national average. Leaders' work to improve spelling and handwriting is at an early stage, and teachers do not consistently address gaps in these areas swiftly enough. The next step identified by inspectors is to ensure that teaching provides sufficient opportunities for pupils who can attain more highly in mathematics to deepen their learning.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe, are polite and respectful, and behaviour is typically good.
• Attendance is prioritised, persistent absence has fallen, and disadvantaged pupils attend regularly.
• The curriculum is ambitious, logically sequenced and inspires pupils, including through sustainability and climate change.
• Early reading, phonics and number foundations have been strengthened and are working well.
• Most pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, develop secure knowledge and achieve well from their starting points.
• Inclusion is strong, with well-trained staff adapting teaching to meet SEND and social and emotional needs.
• Early years provision is well led, including the new nursery, with effective transition and communication and language support.
• Leaders, governors and staff work effectively together, and staff wellbeing is prioritised.
• Personal development is central, with pupils taking leadership roles, learning about global issues and accessing wide extracurricular opportunities.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture and swift action on concerns.

Areas for Improvement

• Expectations in mathematics are not consistently high enough, so some pupils do not deepen their knowledge.
• The proportion attaining the higher standard in mathematics at the end of Year 6 is below the national average.
• Some mathematics activities do not give pupils sufficient opportunity to deepen their learning.
• Work to improve spelling and handwriting is at an early stage and is not applied consistently across the school.
• Teachers do not always address gaps in spelling and handwriting swiftly enough.
• Latest 2024/25 combined and reading/mathematics outcomes were below national averages, despite three-year averages being close.

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 Bollington St John's CofE Primary School attended 96.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.3% 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 Bollington St John's 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 Bollington St John's CofE Primary School had 18.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 41.7% 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, 16.7% of pupils at Bollington St John's CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.8% 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 Bollington St John's CofE Primary School received £7,723 and spent £7,747 for each of its 102 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £157,000 (£1,542 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).

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• Secondary Schools

All schools in Macclesfield · Cheshire East local authority: places and applications

What is Bollington St John's CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bollington St John's CofE Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Bollington St John's CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bollington St John's CofE Primary School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Bollington St John's CofE Primary School have?

Bollington St John's CofE Primary School has 102 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bollington St John's CofE Primary School cover?

Bollington St John's CofE Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Bollington St John's CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 54% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Bollington St John's CofE Primary School?

Bollington St John's CofE Primary School is at Grimshaw Lane, Bollington, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 5LY.