St Michael's Community Academy

St Michael's Community Academy is a larger-than-average primary school in Crewe with a high proportion of disadvantaged pupils and significant local deprivation, and it is part of St Bart's Multi Academy Trust. Inspectors found safeguarding requirements met and a school that is generally operating at the expected standard across most areas, with a calm, orderly and caring culture, positive behaviour, improving attendance, and effective early years and inclusion provision. Leadership has stabilised after a turbulent period, and staff, parents and pupils are broadly positive about the direction of travel. The main concern is achievement. Pupils do not consistently secure the most important knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics, and published outcomes at the end of key stage 2 are weak, meaning many pupils are not well prepared for secondary school. Gaps are particularly pronounced for disadvantaged pupils, and overall absence and persistent absence, although improving, remain above national averages. Leaders have a clear plan and have begun appropriate action, but it is too soon to see the impact of much of this work. In early years, provision is strong overall, though staff do not always model the use of resources as effectively as they could. The next steps focus on closing historic gaps in pupils' knowledge, continuing to improve attendance, and sharpening resource modelling in the early years.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture in which concerns are actively identified and managed.
• Leaders have high expectations and clear routines that promote punctuality, attendance and a warm welcome.
• Persistent absence is reducing rapidly, supported by strong pastoral and external agency work.
• School is calm and orderly; recent behaviour changes are understood by pupils and applied consistently by staff.
• Most pupils behave well, focus on learning and value rewards; bullying is rare and dealt with effectively.
• Curriculum is appropriately sequenced and prioritises early reading, writing and mathematics.
• Consistent phonics teaching helps pupils read well with expression and fluency.
• Teachers have secure subject knowledge and adapt learning effectively for pupils with SEND.
• Early years provision is ambitious and well designed for 2- to 4-year-olds, with effective phonics and quick identification of needs.
• Inclusion is a strength: leaders identify barriers early and use funding and specialist support wisely.
• Leadership and governance are effective, with trust and school leaders aligned and staff positive about support.
• Personal development is well crafted, including PSHE, British values, pupil leadership and enrichment opportunities.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not achieve as well as they could, particularly in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Outcomes at the end of key stage 2 are weak, and most pupils are not well prepared for secondary school.
• Some older pupils have gaps in basic skills, and staff sometimes move on before knowledge is secure.
• Disadvantaged pupils' outcomes are below national averages, with a large disadvantage gap.
• Overall absence and persistent absence remain above national averages, though improving.
• In a minority of classes, teachers' subject understanding and knowledge of how best to teach are less well developed.
• In early years, staff do not always model the use of resources as effectively as they could.
• Leaders' actions to address achievement are appropriate but too recent to show impact.

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 St Michael's Community Academy attended 92.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 23.4% 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, 5.2% of pupils at St Michael's Community 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 St Michael's Community Academy had 18.3 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, 15.5% of pupils at St Michael's Community Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.2% 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 St Michael's Community Academy received £6,875 and spent £6,862 for each of its 424 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £169,000 (£398 per pupil).

Across all 23 schools of St Bart'S Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,493 and spending £7,753 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 Crewe · Cheshire East local authority: places and applications

St Michael's Community Academy is part of St Bart'S Multi Academy Trust, which runs 23 schools. The nearest others:

• Hungerford Primary Academy Crewe
• Nantwich Primary Academy Nantwich
• Offley Primary Academy Sandbach
• Cranberry Academy Alsager
• St Saviour's CofE Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• St John's CofE Primary Academy Newcastle
• Knutton St Marys CofE Academy Newcastle Under Lyme
• Saint Nathaniel's Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Whitchurch CofE Junior Academy Whitchurch
• Stoke Minster CofE Primary Academy Stoke-On-Trent

What is St Michael's Community Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Michael's Community Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was St Michael's Community Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Michael's Community Academy was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does St Michael's Community Academy have?

St Michael's Community Academy has 412 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Michael's Community Academy cover?

St Michael's Community Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are St Michael's Community Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 33% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Michael's Community Academy?

St Michael's Community Academy is at Holland Street, Crewe, Cheshire, CW1 3SL.