Pott Shrigley CofE Primary School

Pott Shrigley CofE Primary School is a very small Church of England primary school with 30 pupils and unusually high proportions of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including those with education, health and care plans. Following this inspection, the school requires special measures, and safeguarding standards are not met. Inspectors found that leaders, including governors, do not have sufficient capacity or accurate self-knowledge to secure rapid improvement, and there are serious weaknesses in safeguarding oversight, attendance, inclusion and the oversight of alternative provision. The school uses three alternative provisions, two of which are unregistered, and leaders do not have adequate oversight of pupils attending them. There are notable strengths. Pupils generally behave well, staff build positive relationships and the school has a calm environment. Phonics is taught consistently well, and pupils develop the phonics knowledge they need to read accurately. The personal development curriculum is well organised and ambitious, with pupils learning about safety, British values and healthy relationships, and many benefit from a wide range of enrichment activities, clubs and community events. Leaders and governors also build constructive relationships with parents and carers. However, these strengths are outweighed by significant concerns. Pupils' achievement is uneven, with gaps in mathematics and weaknesses in handwriting and writing fluency. Teaching does not consistently check what pupils know, and pupils with SEND do not receive support matched well to their needs. Attendance is consistently below national averages, including for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, and leaders' oversight of attendance is ineffective. Governance is weak, pupil premium funding is not used or evaluated well, and leaders do not fulfil their statutory duties for pupils with SEND. Staff turbulence has limited leaders' capacity, and staff wellbeing during change has not been sufficiently considered.

Strengths

• Pupils generally behave well and show positive attitudes to learning.
• Staff establish clear rules and routines that pupils understand and follow.
• Staff build positive relationships and help some pupils manage their emotions.
• Pupils are greeted warmly and settle quickly into school routines.
• Pupils develop secure phonics knowledge and read with increasing accuracy and fluency.
• The personal development curriculum is well organised and suitably ambitious.
• Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe online and in the local community.
• Pupils learn about fundamental British values and can discuss discrimination maturely.
• Pupils benefit from a range of clubs, performances, public speaking and sporting events.
• Leaders and governors build constructive relationships with parents and carers.
• Some staff access national qualifications and share good practice to develop their expertise.
• Leaders take some account of staff workload by providing additional time for important work.

Areas for Improvement

• Safeguarding standards are not met and leaders have not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding.
• Leaders do not ensure the safety of pupils attending alternative provision, including oversight of attendance and safer recruitment checks.
• The single central record is not maintained in line with statutory requirements.
• There is no system for recording low-level concerns about staff or adults.
• The school requires special measures because leaders and governors lack capacity to secure improvement.
• Leaders do not accurately understand the school's strengths and areas for development.
• Governors lack the knowledge to fulfil their statutory functions and do not hold leaders to account.
• Leaders do not fulfil statutory duties for pupils with SEND and have not designated a teacher to coordinate SEND provision.
• Pupils with SEND do not receive support matched well to their needs.
• Leaders do not understand or evaluate the use of pupil premium funding effectively.
• Oversight of attendance is ineffective and attendance registers are sometimes inaccurate.
• Attendance rates are consistently below the national average for all groups of pupils.
• Leaders do not take responsibility for the education and welfare of pupils in alternative provision.
• Teachers do not check pupils' knowledge effectively enough in many subjects.
• Pupils have considerable gaps in mathematics, and the Year 4 multiplication tables check is consistently below average.
• Pupils do not write legibly or fluently, and handwriting teaching lacks sufficient guidance.
• The personal development offer does not reach pupils who are absent or attending alternative provision.
• Pastoral support has not had the intended impact on barriers such as poor attendance.
• Leaders do not consistently provide teachers with the support and guidance needed for all their roles.
• Leaders do not do enough to consider staff wellbeing during times of considerable change.

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 Pott Shrigley CofE Primary School attended 87.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 34.4% 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 Pott Shrigley 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 Pott Shrigley CofE Primary School had 7.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 30.8% of pupils at Pott Shrigley CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 34.6% 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 Pott Shrigley CofE Primary School received £15,904 and spent £18,898 for each of its 26 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £175,000 (-£6,725 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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All schools in Macclesfield · Cheshire East local authority: places and applications

What is Pott Shrigley CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Pott Shrigley CofE Primary School is Urgent improvement, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Pott Shrigley CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Pott Shrigley CofE Primary School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Pott Shrigley CofE Primary School have?

Pott Shrigley CofE Primary School has 26 pupils on roll.

What age range does Pott Shrigley CofE Primary School cover?

Pott Shrigley CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Pott Shrigley CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 50% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Pott Shrigley CofE Primary School?

Pott Shrigley CofE Primary School is at Shrigley Road, Pott Shrigley, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 5RT.