Chancel Primary School

Chancel Primary School is a happy, nurturing and ambitious school where pupils thrive from the two-year-old provision through to Year 6. This graded inspection found the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management to be good, with early years provision outstanding. The previous inspection grade was good, and this was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic; under current arrangements, no overall effectiveness grade was given.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, safe and eager to learn in a nurturing school community.
• The curriculum is broad, interesting and ambitious, helping pupils achieve well.
• Early reading is taught well, with effective support for pupils who need extra help.
• Pupils with SEND are identified and supported very effectively and follow an inclusive curriculum.
• Early years provision is outstanding, giving children an exceptionally strong start.
• Pupils behave well, attend regularly and have positive attitudes to school.
• Personal development is a high priority and is carefully integrated across the curriculum.
• Governors know the school well, are committed and hold high ambitions for pupils.
• Leaders are mindful of staff workload and well-being.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils have fewer opportunities to strengthen reasoning and problem-solving skills in mathematics.
• In some lessons, key knowledge is not succinctly and clearly identified, which can cause confusion, disengagement and hinder progress.

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 Chancel Primary School attended 95.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.2% 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, 0.9% of pupils at Chancel 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 Chancel Primary School had 22.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.6% 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, 11.0% of pupils at Chancel Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.3% 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 Chancel Primary School received £8,194 and spent £8,232 for each of its 210 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £406,000 (£1,933 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 Chancel Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Chancel Primary School is Good, from an inspection in April 2025.

When was Chancel Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Chancel Primary School was last inspected in April 2025.

How many pupils does Chancel Primary School have?

Chancel Primary School has 210 pupils on roll.

What age range does Chancel Primary School cover?

Chancel Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 72% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Chancel Primary School?

Chancel Primary School is at Wolseley Road, Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 2EW.