Christ Church Academy

Christ Church Academy is a middle school of 545 pupils in Stone, Staffordshire, part of The Key Educational Trust. It was judged strong in attendance and behaviour and in personal development and wellbeing, and met the expected standard in achievement, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance. Safeguarding standards are met.

Strengths

• Pupils' attendance is consistently high and persistent absence is well below the national average
• Behaviour in classrooms and on the playground is excellent and pupils are polite and respectful
• Personal development is a coherent, school-specific programme that develops character and independence
• The school provides a wide range of clubs, trips and leadership roles, with support for disadvantaged pupils to participate
• Careers education and guidance are high quality and impartial, including in key stage 2
• Leaders have created an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum with secure subject knowledge
• Teaching adapts well for pupils with SEND, and phonics teaching supports early reading
• Pupils with SEND settle quickly and learn well, with effective and timely support
• Governors and trustees are knowledgeable, hold leaders to account effectively and fulfil statutory duties
• Staff are well trained in SEND, workload and wellbeing are supported, and professional learning is provided
• Pupils feel safe and are taught how to keep safe, including online and in the local community
• Pupils are tolerant and respectful of differences, and bullying and harassment are rare and dealt with effectively

Areas for Improvement

• Staff do not consistently check how well pupils have learned new knowledge or address misconceptions quickly, leaving some pupils with gaps in foundational knowledge
• The quality of pupils' spelling, handwriting and presentation is variable across some subjects and year groups
• Outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics are generally in line with national averages but leaders recognise more work is needed, particularly in mathematics
• Disadvantaged pupils do not consistently reach the expected standard compared with national averages across reading, writing and mathematics

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 Christ Church Academy attended 94.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 13.4% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 2.6% of pupils at Christ Church Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 Christ Church Academy had 20.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.2% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 12.4% of pupils at Christ Church Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Christ Church Academy received £6,714 and spent £6,493 for each of its 546 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £913,000 (£1,672 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of The Key Educational Trust, income was £6,527 and spending £6,717 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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

Christ Church Academy is part of The Key Educational Trust, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• Christ Church CofE First School Stone
• Oulton CofE First School Stone
• St Peter's Church of England Primary School Stoke-On-Trent
• St Mary's CofE Primary School Market Drayton

What is Christ Church Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Christ Church Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Christ Church Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Christ Church Academy was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Christ Church Academy have?

Christ Church Academy has 540 pupils on roll.

What age range does Christ Church Academy cover?

Christ Church Academy for pupils aged 9 to 13.

What are Christ Church Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Christ Church Academy?

Christ Church Academy is at Old Road, Stone, Staffordshire, ST15 8JD.