St Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy

St Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy, is a caring and welcoming school where pupils are happy, safe and behave well. This was its first section 5 inspection as an academy, although the predecessor school had been judged outstanding before conversion; under current arrangements no overall effectiveness grade was awarded. Behaviour and attitudes, personal development and early years provision are strong, and safeguarding is effective. Pupils benefit from a broad curriculum, high attendance, strong SEND support and a personal development programme that builds responsibility and respect. The quality of education and leadership and management are the main areas for improvement. Pupils generally achieve in line with national expectations in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6, but the curriculum is uneven across other subjects. In some subjects, essential knowledge is not clearly identified, subject leaders are at an early stage of monitoring impact, and checks on learning and opportunities to revisit prior learning are inconsistent, so gaps can persist. Early reading has a systematic programme and strong text selection, but phonics and early writing are not taught consistently well, leaving some pupils less secure in sounds, letters and fluent letter formation. Leaders now need to strengthen subject leadership, ensure the curriculum is implemented consistently and sharpen the teaching of early reading and writing.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, safe and well cared for in a welcoming school community.
• Behaviour is typically good and classrooms are purposeful and settled.
• Pupils are polite, respectful and keen to contribute to school life.
• The personal development programme prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain.
• Pupils value difference and take on leadership roles such as buddies, prefects and play leaders.
• Children in the early years get a positive start through effective transition and well-planned activities.
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and benefit from well-targeted curriculum adaptations.
• Attendance is high, with appropriate support to reduce absence where needed.
• Staff generally feel workload and well-being are considered.
• Governors and the trust provide effective support and challenge.
• Reading is supported by high-quality texts and careful assessment to help pupils catch up.

Areas for Improvement

• Some subjects are not well embedded and pupils do not learn all they should.
• In a couple of subjects, the most important knowledge pupils should learn is not clearly defined.
• Some subject leaders are at an early stage of overseeing curriculum implementation and impact.
• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent, including how teachers check learning and give pupils chances to recap and practise.
• Gaps in learning are not always addressed before teaching moves on.
• Phonics and early writing teaching lacks precision and consistency.
• Some pupils are not fully confident in remembering sounds and letters or in forming letters and writing fluently.

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 Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy attended 95.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.0% 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, 1.0% of pupils at St Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary 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 Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy had 22.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 32.4% 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, 13.8% of pupils at St Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.9% 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 Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy received £6,000 and spent £6,641 for each of its 303 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £504,000 (£1,664 per pupil).

Across all 15 schools of Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Academy Trust, income was £6,593 and spending £6,619 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 Macclesfield · Cheshire East local authority: places and applications

St Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is part of Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Academy Trust, which runs 18 schools. The nearest others:

• All Hallows Catholic College Macclesfield
• Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Primary School Macclesfield
• St Paul's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Stockport
• St. Benedict's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Wilmslow
• Saint Mary's Catholic Primary School Congleton
• St Vincent De Paul Catholic Primary School Knutsford
• St. Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Middlewich
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Winsford
• Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy Ellesmere Port
• St Saviour's Catholic Primary and Nursery School, A Voluntary Academy Ellesmere Port

What is St Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was St Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does St Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy have?

St Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy has 268 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy cover?

St Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 48% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy?

St Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy is at Priory Lane, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 3HJ.