Underwood West Academy

Underwood West Academy is a warm, inclusive primary school that wraps support around pupils and families. The school has high aspirations and an ambitious curriculum, and pupils, including those with SEND, are well supported to achieve. Personal development is a standout strength: pupils are exceptionally well prepared for community life through local projects, cultural ambassador roles and a wide range of enrichment. Reading is taught well from the start, behaviour is positive, attendance is improving, and safeguarding is effective. Leadership and governance are ambitious and staff feel valued. The report notes that published data does not reflect the quality of education current pupils receive, partly because many pupils with English as an additional language join during key stage 2 and have limited time to benefit from the curriculum before leaving Year 6.

Strengths

• Warm, welcoming and inclusive culture where pupils feel safe and respected
• High aspirations and an ambitious curriculum for all pupils
• Strong support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities
• Skilled phonics teaching that helps pupils read confidently and fosters a love of reading
• Outstanding personal development with extensive community and enrichment opportunities
• Positive relationships and good behaviour in lessons and around school
• Improving attendance and pupils who want to learn
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Strong leadership, governance and attention to staff well-being

Areas for Improvement

• Systems for checking what pupils know and remember over time are not consistently effective, so misconceptions and gaps can go unaddressed
• Early writing is not consistently strong because pupils sometimes receive poor models and inappropriate activities for pencil grip, letter formation and applying phonics
• Some pupils do not master accurate letter formation by the end of Year 2, which hinders writing fluency in key stage 2
• Published data does not reflect current pupils' education, partly because high numbers of pupils with English as an additional language join during key stage 2

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 Underwood West Academy attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 19.4% 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, 1.6% of pupils at Underwood West 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 Underwood West Academy had 19.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.8% 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, 26.3% of pupils at Underwood West Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.7% 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 Underwood West Academy received £7,367 and spent £7,188 for each of its 480 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £548,000 (£1,144 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of The Aspire Educational Trust, income was £6,867 and spending £6,913 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

Underwood West Academy is part of The Aspire Educational Trust, which runs 13 schools. The nearest others:

• Sandbach Primary Academy Sandbach
• Holmes Chapel Primary School Crewe
• Victoria Road Primary School Northwich
• Peover Superior Endowed Primary School Knutsford
• Ivy Bank Primary School Macclesfield
• Ash Grove Academy Macclesfield
• Hollinhey Primary School Macclesfield
• Parkroyal Community School Macclesfield
• Puss Bank School and Nursery Macclesfield
• Hurdsfield Community Primary School and Nursery Macclesfield

What is Underwood West Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Underwood West Academy is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Underwood West Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Underwood West Academy was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Underwood West Academy have?

Underwood West Academy has 490 pupils on roll.

What age range does Underwood West Academy cover?

Underwood West Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Underwood West Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 38% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Underwood West Academy?

Underwood West Academy is at Newcastle Street, Crewe, Cheshire, CW1 3LF.