The Arches Community Primary School

The Arches Community Primary School is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating across all domains during its recent inspection. The school provides a happy and welcoming environment where pupils thrive academically and socially. Staff maintain high expectations for all students, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), ensuring they achieve well across a range of subjects. The supportive relationships between pupils and staff foster a calm atmosphere conducive to learning. However, the inspection identified some gaps in the assessment strategies used by staff in a few subjects, which can hinder tracking pupil progress effectively.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy attending a happy and welcoming school.
• High expectations from staff lead to good academic achievements.
• Supportive relationships enhance pupils' confidence.
• Well-designed curriculum helps pupils build on their knowledge.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND ensures they learn well.
• Pupils engage in a wide range of extracurricular activities.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment strategies in a small number of subjects are less well developed.
• Some pupils lack opportunities to learn and revisit fundamental British values.

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 Arches Community Primary School attended 93.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 19.8% 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, 1.1% of pupils at The Arches Community 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 Arches Community Primary School had 17.5 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, 37.2% of pupils at The Arches Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 10.0% 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 Arches Community Primary School received £9,693 and spent £9,998 for each of its 180 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £152,000 (-£847 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 Chester · Cheshire West and Chester local authority: places and applications

What is The Arches Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Arches Community Primary School is Good, from an inspection in September 2023.

When was The Arches Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Arches Community Primary School was last inspected in September 2023.

How many pupils does The Arches Community Primary School have?

The Arches Community Primary School has 180 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Arches Community Primary School cover?

The Arches Community Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 65% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is The Arches Community Primary School?

The Arches Community Primary School is at Saughall Road, Blacon, Chester, Cheshire, CH1 5EZ.