Christ Church Church of England Academy

Christ Church Church of England Academy is a small, inclusive primary school in the Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust, serving a disadvantaged community with high proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals and pupils with SEND. Inspectors found safeguarding standards met and a calm, caring culture where pupils feel safe, happy and well cared for. Early years is a particular strength: leaders have significantly strengthened provision, children settle quickly and achieve well by the end of Reception. Most areas of the school’s work are secure. Pupils behave well, reading and phonics are prioritised, the curriculum is purposeful, and personal development is broad. Leaders, trustees and governors know the school well, staff wellbeing is supported, and attendance is improving through a supportive, personalised approach. Disadvantaged pupils generally attain in line with national averages over time, and pupils with SEND make suitable progress from their starting points. However, there is still work to do. Pupils’ writing is not yet consistently strong, particularly spelling, grammar, punctuation and handwriting. Leaders need a clearer strategic overview of how interventions are monitored and evaluated, especially as SEND numbers have risen. Attendance remains a key priority because overall absence is above the national average, although persistent absence is improving.

Strengths

• Early years provision is a notable strength, with a well-designed curriculum and children who settle quickly and achieve well.
• Reading is prioritised, and phonics is taught consistently by well-trained staff.
• Pupils behave well and respond positively to clear, consistent routines.
• The school has a calm, caring and inclusive culture in which pupils feel safe and happy.
• Leaders quickly identify pupils’ needs and provide tailored support, including through nurture provision.
• Personal development is broad, with purposeful opportunities, clubs, leadership roles and visits.
• Leaders, trustees and governors work closely and know the school well.
• Staff wellbeing and workload are well supported.
• Attendance is improving through a supportive, personalised approach.
• Disadvantaged pupils generally attain in line with national averages over time.
• Pupils with SEND make suitable progress from their starting points.
• The curriculum is purposeful and designed to build pupils’ knowledge and understanding of their impact on the world.

Areas for Improvement

• Writing is not yet consistently strong across the school, including spelling, grammar, punctuation and handwriting.
• Leaders lack a strategic overview of how interventions are monitored and evaluated to show impact on outcomes.
• Attendance remains a key priority, with overall absence above the national average.
• Persistent absence, although improving, has been above the national average in recent years.
• The impact of interventions for the growing number of pupils with SEND is not yet checked clearly enough.

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 Church of England Academy attended 93.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.9% 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, 2.2% of pupils at Christ Church Church of England Academy 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 Christ Church Church of England Academy had 18.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.0% 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, 41.6% of pupils at Christ Church Church of England Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.6% 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 2024–25 Christ Church Church of England Academy received £8,645 and spent £8,886 for each of its 186 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £59,000 (£318 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust, income was £8,537 and spending £8,479 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 Shipley · Bradford local authority: places and applications

Christ Church Church of England Academy is part of Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• Shipley CofE Primary School Shipley
• Wycliffe CofE Primary School Shipley
• Baildon Church of England Primary School Shipley
• Immanuel College Bradford
• Westminster Church of England Primary Academy Bradford
• Belle Vue Girls' Academy Bradford
• St Philip's CofE Primary School Bradford
• Bradford Girls' Grammar School Bradford
• Lady Royd Primary School Bradford
• The Academy At St. James Bradford

What is Christ Church Church of England Academy's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Christ Church Church of England Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Christ Church Church of England Academy was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Christ Church Church of England Academy have?

Christ Church Church of England Academy has 161 pupils on roll.

What age range does Christ Church Church of England Academy cover?

Christ Church Church of England Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 46% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Christ Church Church of England Academy?

Christ Church Church of England Academy is at Wrose Brow Road, Shipley, West Yorkshire, BD18 2NT.