St Paul's CofE Primary School, Stalybridge

St Paul’s CofE Primary School in Stalybridge continues to effectively uphold the standards established during its previous inspection in January 2020. Under the leadership of Headteacher Simon Wright and as part of the Chester Diocesan Academies Trust, the school has created a nurturing environment where pupils feel safe and valued. The strong emphasis on pupils' well-being and personal development is evident, contributing to their positive attitudes and high attendance rates. The school has a robust curriculum that supports achievement, particularly in reading and early years education.

Strengths

• Pupils display positive attitudes and high expectations of their achievements.
• Strong focus on pupils' well-being and safety.
• Effective phonics program leading to confident and fluent readers.
• Personal development initiatives prepare pupils well for life in modern Britain.
• Support for pupils with SEND is effective and facilitates good achievement.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, checks on pupils' understanding are insufficient, leading to unnecessary support.

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 Paul's CofE Primary School, Stalybridge attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.3% 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 Paul's CofE Primary School, Stalybridge 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 Paul's CofE Primary School, Stalybridge had 22.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.4% 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, 9.5% of pupils at St Paul's CofE Primary School, Stalybridge were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.1% 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 Paul's CofE Primary School, Stalybridge received £7,155 and spent £7,108 for each of its 203 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £92,000 (£454 per pupil).

Across all 27 schools of Chester Diocesan Academies Trust, income was £6,299 and spending £6,313 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.

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All schools in Stalybridge · Tameside local authority: places and applications

St Paul's CofE Primary School, Stalybridge is part of Chester Diocesan Academies Trust, which runs 32 schools. The nearest others:

• Mottram CofE Primary School Hyde
• St George's CofE Primary School Hyde
• Broadbottom Church of England Primary School Hyde
• Gee Cross Holy Trinity CofE Primary School Hyde
• Bredbury St. Marks CofE Primary School Stockport
• St Matthew's Church of England Primary School Stockport
• Little Bollington CofE Primary School Altrincham
• Bosley St Mary's CofE Primary School Macclesfield
• St Thomas' CofE Primary School Warrington
• Stretton St Matthew's CofE Primary School Warrington

What is St Paul's CofE Primary School, Stalybridge's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Paul's CofE Primary School, Stalybridge is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was St Paul's CofE Primary School, Stalybridge last inspected by Ofsted?

St Paul's CofE Primary School, Stalybridge was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does St Paul's CofE Primary School, Stalybridge have?

St Paul's CofE Primary School, Stalybridge has 190 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Paul's CofE Primary School, Stalybridge cover?

St Paul's CofE Primary School, Stalybridge for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Paul's CofE Primary School, Stalybridge's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 76% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Paul's CofE Primary School, Stalybridge?

St Paul's CofE Primary School, Stalybridge is at Huddersfield Road, Stalybridge, Cheshire, SK15 2PT.