Co-op Academy Hamilton

Co-op Academy Hamilton is a small, highly inclusive primary school that was inspected in April 2026. Every inspected area — achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing — was judged to be at the strong standard, and safeguarding standards are met. Pupils achieve very highly, attendance is above national averages, behaviour is consistently positive, and the curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced. The school’s notable strengths include early reading and phonics, with outcomes consistently above national averages; highly effective early years provision; precise support for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities; and strong leadership, governance and staff development. The report highlights a warm, inclusive culture, productive parental engagement and a well-embedded personal development programme. Context matters: the school has 113 pupils, above-average free school meals eligibility and well-above-average SEN support, and it joined The Co-operative Academies Trust in 2024, a significant change since its last inspection. There are no areas of underperformance flagged in the report. The only next step is for leaders to ensure the school’s expansion into key stage 2 is managed effectively so that the existing high standards are sustained and built on. Overall, this is a strong-performing school with clear capacity to continue improving.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve very highly across the curriculum and are well prepared for the next stage of education.
• Phonics outcomes are consistently above national averages, with reading progress tracked closely.
• Attendance is above national averages, including for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• Behaviour is consistently very positive, with pupils polite, respectful and focused.
• The curriculum is ambitious, well sequenced and taught consistently well across the school.
• Early years provision is highly effective, particularly in language, phonics, early writing and mathematics.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are identified quickly and supported precisely to progress well.
• Leaders and governors have an accurate understanding of the school and use it to drive improvement.
• Professional development, staff wellbeing and morale are strong.
• Personal development is well planned, with effective pastoral support and wide enrichment opportunities.
• Pupils feel safe, valued and part of a warm, inclusive community guided by the MAGIC values.
• Parental engagement and family partnerships are positive and productive.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.

Areas for Improvement

• Leaders need to ensure the school’s expansion into key stage 2 is managed effectively so existing high standards are sustained and built on.

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 Co-op Academy Hamilton attended 95.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.9% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Co-op Academy Hamilton 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 Co-op Academy Hamilton had 21.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 25.0% 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, 22.8% of pupils at Co-op Academy Hamilton were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.5% 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 Co-op Academy Hamilton received £8,011 and spent £9,934 for each of its 110 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £57,000 (-£519 per pupil).

Across all 40 schools of The Co-Operative Academies Trust, income was £9,737 and spending £9,467 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 Stoke-On-Trent · Stoke-on-Trent local authority: places and applications

Co-op Academy Hamilton is part of The Co-Operative Academies Trust, which runs 40 schools. The nearest others:

• Co-op Academy Grove Stoke-On-Trent
• Co-op Academy Northwood Stoke-On-Trent
• Co-op Academy Stoke-On-Trent Stoke-On-Trent
• Co-op Academy Glebe Stoke-On-Trent
• Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff Stoke-On-Trent
• Co-op Academy Friarswood Newcastle
• Co-op Academy Florence MacWilliams Stoke-On-Trent
• Co-op Academy Belle Vue Manchester
• Co-op Academy Medlock Manchester
• Connell Co-Op College Manchester

What is Co-op Academy Hamilton's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Co-op Academy Hamilton is Strong standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Co-op Academy Hamilton last inspected by Ofsted?

Co-op Academy Hamilton was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Co-op Academy Hamilton have?

Co-op Academy Hamilton has 136 pupils on roll.

What age range does Co-op Academy Hamilton cover?

Co-op Academy Hamilton for pupils aged 3 to 7.

Where is Co-op Academy Hamilton?

Co-op Academy Hamilton is at Barthomley Road, Birches Head, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST1 6NW.