The Croft Primary School

The Croft Primary School is a small, inclusive school where pupils love learning and feel a strong sense of belonging. Leaders have created a clear and extensive personal development programme, and enrichment opportunities are well matched to pupils' needs. Pupils' personal development is a notable strength, with pupils developing independence, resilience and respect for others. The school has high attendance, and pupils behave well around school, with positive relationships between staff and pupils. Most pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, achieve at least in line with national outcomes at the end of key stage 2, and pupils with SEND are well supported through curriculum adaptations. The early years provides a safe and inclusive environment where children settle quickly and develop foundational knowledge. However, the inspection identified that teaching is variable across year groups, and checks on pupils' knowledge are not consistently effective. This means misconceptions and errors in some pupils' work persist over time, and some pupils do not achieve as well as they could. In some lessons, a few pupils have poorer attitudes to learning that are not always addressed. In the early years, learning intentions are sometimes not clear enough, limiting opportunities to develop children's communication skills. Leaders are aware of these issues and have begun to take action, but the impact is not yet consistent across all year groups. This was a full inspection under the renewed inspection framework. The headteacher joined the school in September 2025, and the school benefits from stable leadership and governance. Leaders accurately identify the school's strengths and weaknesses, and staff value the professional learning and workload management. Parents are extremely positive about the school and the improvements made under the new leadership. The safeguarding standards are met.

Strengths

• Pupils' personal development is a significant strength, with a well-rounded programme that builds independence, resilience and respect.
• Enrichment and wider opportunities are carefully matched to pupils' needs and support learning in the wider curriculum.
• Pupils have a strong sense of belonging and live out the school values of 'Caring, Courageous and Creative'.
• Attendance is consistently above national averages, with very low levels of persistent absence.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported through curriculum adaptations.
• Most pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, achieve at least in line with national outcomes at the end of key stage 2.
• The early years provides a safe and inclusive environment with well-embedded routines and positive relationships with parents.
• Behaviour around school is cooperative and positive, and bullying is rare and dealt with quickly.
• Leaders know the school well and have taken deliberate steps to improve provision, including better in-class support for pupils with SEND.
• Governors fulfil their statutory duties well and provide suitable support and challenge.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching is variable across year groups, and checks on pupils' knowledge are not consistently effective.
• Misconceptions and errors in some pupils' work persist over time because gaps are not always identified and addressed.
• In some lessons, a few pupils have poorer attitudes to learning that are not always addressed, meaning some do not complete the work they are capable of.
• In the early years, learning intentions are sometimes not clear enough, so opportunities to develop children's communication skills are not always taken.
• Curriculum and teaching are graded as requiring attention, with inconsistent expectations in presentation and handwriting.
• Leaders' recent actions to improve assessment and teaching have not yet had a consistently positive impact across all year groups.
• Systems for tracking the impact of SEND strategies are still developing.
• Governors' support and challenge is not always clearly reflected in meeting records.

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 The Croft Primary School attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.7% 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 The Croft 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 The Croft Primary School had 18.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.5% 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, 19.4% of pupils at The Croft Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.4% 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 The Croft Primary School received £7,218 and spent £7,587 for each of its 165 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £9,000 (£55 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).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Rugeley · Staffordshire local authority: places and applications

What is The Croft Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Croft Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was The Croft Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Croft Primary School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does The Croft Primary School have?

The Croft Primary School has 165 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Croft Primary School cover?

The Croft Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are The Croft Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 76% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is The Croft Primary School?

The Croft Primary School is at Rugeley Road, Armitage, Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 4AZ.