Co-op Academy Grove

Grove Academy has demonstrated significant improvement since its previous inspection, moving from a needs improvement status to being rated as good in all areas. The school provides a welcoming and inclusive environment where pupils are happy and eager to learn. High expectations are set by leadership, and students are actively engaged in their learning experiences, showcasing resilience and teamwork both in the classroom and through extracurricular activities. The school is also effective in supporting pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Strengths

• Pupils are motivated and demonstrate a strong desire to succeed.
• The curriculum is well-sequenced and organized, effectively building knowledge over time.
• Strong emphasis on reading, with high-quality literature provided and matched to pupils' phonics knowledge.
• Pupils show excellent behaviour and respect for staff and peers.
• The school council provides pupils with a voice in school decisions.
• Leaders are knowledgeable about the school's strengths and areas for future improvement.

Areas for Improvement

• Not all staff deliver phonics instruction with the necessary precision, affecting some early-stage readers' progress.
• Pupils in some subjects struggle to recall learned material, impacting their ability to connect prior and new knowledge.

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 Grove attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.6% 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, 1.4% of pupils at Co-op Academy Grove 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 Grove had 17.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.8% 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, 31.9% of pupils at Co-op Academy Grove were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.5% 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 Grove received £8,306 and spent £8,527 for each of its 365 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £668,000 (£1,829 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 Grove is part of The Co-Operative Academies Trust, which runs 40 schools. The nearest others:

• Co-op Academy Hamilton 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 Grove's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Co-op Academy Grove is Good, from an inspection in July 2024.

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

Co-op Academy Grove was last inspected in July 2024.

How many pupils does Co-op Academy Grove have?

Co-op Academy Grove has 317 pupils on roll.

What age range does Co-op Academy Grove cover?

Co-op Academy Grove for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Co-op Academy Grove's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 54% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Co-op Academy Grove?

Co-op Academy Grove is at Turner Street, Northwood, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST1 2NL.