Churnet View Middle School

Churnet View Middle School demonstrates effective leadership that has maintained the positive standards identified during its last inspection. Pupils generally feel safe and engaged in their learning, with consistent routines contributing to a calm school environment. Despite areas for improvement in reading and mathematics, the school has designed an ambitious curriculum to help address these gaps and ensure pupils are well-prepared for high school upon leaving in Year 8.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy school and attend regularly.
• Leaders prioritize high standards and support for all pupils.
• Reduced incidences of low-level disruptive behavior in classrooms.
• Effective support and adjustments for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• Teachers are well-trained and deliver a robust, ambitious curriculum.
• Cross-curricular links are well-planned to enhance learning.
• Strong community involvement through various school activities.
• Positive relationships among staff, pupils, and parents.

Areas for Improvement

• Standards in reading and mathematics are below average in Year 6.
• Some pupils become disengaged when they finish work quickly or get stuck, leading to lost learning time.

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 Churnet View Middle School attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 10.3% 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, 3.4% of pupils at Churnet View Middle School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 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 Churnet View Middle School had 15.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 3.6% 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, 17.0% of pupils at Churnet View Middle School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.1% 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 Churnet View Middle School received £7,600 and spent £7,517 for each of its 436 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £537,000 (£1,232 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of The Talentum Learning Trust, income was £7,413 and spending £7,300 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 Leek · Staffordshire local authority: places and applications

Churnet View Middle School is part of The Talentum Learning Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Beresford Memorial CofE First School Leek
• Leek High School Leek
• Leek First School Select
• All Saints CofE First School Leek
• Westwood First School Leek
• Westwood College Leek
• Blackshaw Moor CofE First School Leek
• Rushton CofE First School Macclesfield

What is Churnet View Middle School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Churnet View Middle School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Churnet View Middle School last inspected by Ofsted?

Churnet View Middle School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Churnet View Middle School have?

Churnet View Middle School has 440 pupils on roll.

What age range does Churnet View Middle School cover?

Churnet View Middle School for pupils aged 9 to 13.

What are Churnet View Middle School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 47% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Churnet View Middle School?

Churnet View Middle School is at Churnet View, Leek, Staffordshire, ST13 6PU.