Clutton Church of England Primary School

Clutton Church of England Primary School is a small village primary that has been through recent instability but is now part of Chester Diocesan Academies Trust, with new leadership in post. Safeguarding is effective, and the school is secure in attendance and behaviour, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Pupils are safe, happy and regular attenders; behaviour is highly positive; leaders, governors and trust colleagues are ambitious and reflective; and the personal development offer is broad, with strong pastoral support and enrichment. The main concerns are in achievement, curriculum and teaching, early years, and inclusion. Pupils' achievement is uneven, with gaps in reading, writing and mathematics, particularly writing, and too few pupils reach the expected standard in national tests. Teaching is not consistently effective in addressing gaps or checking learning precisely, and the curriculum is not taught well enough across all subjects. In the early years, activities are not always matched to children's starting points, outdoor learning access is limited, and opportunities to deepen learning are sometimes missed. Inclusion systems for identifying SEND are not yet secure, meaning some pupils do not receive timely support. Leaders recognise these weaknesses and have begun appropriate improvement work, including training and better assessment, but the impact is not yet embedded. The school is very small, has a high proportion of pupils with EHC plans, and has recently changed trust and leadership. Younger pupils make a positive start in reading and phonics, and there is a strong caring ethos, but outcomes across subjects and phases need to become more consistent.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.
• Pupils feel safe, attend regularly and are proud of their school.
• Behaviour is highly positive, classrooms are calm and bullying is rare.
• Leadership and governance are effective, with a clear understanding of the school's context and ambition to improve.
• Governors are well informed, receive appropriate training and fulfil statutory duties.
• Staff value training, trust-wide collaboration and leaders' consideration for wellbeing.
• Personal development is comprehensive, including PSHE, online safety, healthy relationships and British values.
• Pastoral support is tailored and timely, sometimes extending to families.
• Pupils benefit from wide-ranging enrichment and leadership opportunities.
• Younger pupils make a positive start in reading and a high proportion pass the phonics screening check.
• Early years children are safe, cared for and develop warm relationships; the environment promotes curiosity and independence.
• Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school's response to concerns and its community commitment.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' achievement varies and they do not consistently develop essential reading, writing and mathematics knowledge.
• Too few pupils perform well enough in national tests, leaving some unprepared for the next stage.
• Some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, have gaps in knowledge, especially in writing.
• Across other subjects, pupils do not remember enough of what they have been taught.
• The curriculum is not taught consistently well, and learning sometimes does not match pupils' needs.
• Staff do not always address gaps in basic reading, writing and number skills effectively.
• Assessment is not precise enough, so some pupils repeat errors and make slower progress.
• Teaching impact varies across the school and subjects, and training to improve delivery is at an early stage.
• In early years, learning is not consistently designed from children's individual starting points, leading to disengagement.
• Children have limited access to learning beyond the classroom, restricting choices to explore and play.
• Early years staff sometimes miss opportunities to build on children's responses and deepen learning.
• Inclusion systems for identifying and assessing SEND are not fully secure, so some pupils do not receive timely support.
• Support for pupils sometimes lacks precise assessment or sharply defined targets.
• Early identification of additional needs is inconsistent, and staff do not always determine quickly whether pupils require 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 Clutton Church of England Primary School attended 94.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.5% 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 Clutton Church of England Primary School 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 Clutton Church of England Primary School had 16.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 31.2% 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, 7.7% of pupils at Clutton Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 10.3% 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 Clutton Church of England Primary School received £14,966 and spent £12,218 for each of its 38 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £0 (-£9 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.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Chester · Cheshire West and Chester local authority: places and applications

Clutton Church of England Primary School is part of Chester Diocesan Academies Trust, which runs 32 schools. The nearest others:

• Huxley CofE Primary School Chester
• Bunbury Aldersey CofE Primary School Tarporley
• Overleigh St Mary's Church of England Primary School Chester
• Dodleston CofE Primary School Chester
• Upton Heath CofE Primary School Chester
• St Oswald's CofE Primary School Chester
• St Oswald's Worleston CofE Primary School Nantwich
• Norley Church of England Primary School Frodsham
• Kingsley St John's CofE Primary School Frodsham
• Wybunbury Delves CofE Primary School Nantwich

What is Clutton Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Clutton Church of England Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Clutton Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Clutton Church of England Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Clutton Church of England Primary School have?

Clutton Church of England Primary School has 39 pupils on roll.

What age range does Clutton Church of England Primary School cover?

Clutton Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

Where is Clutton Church of England Primary School?

Clutton Church of England Primary School is at Broxton Road, Clutton, Chester, Cheshire, CH3 9ER.