Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff

Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff is a strongly performing school. Safeguarding standards are met, and inspectors found strong practice in attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development. Achievement and early years were judged as expected rather than strong. The school is larger than average, serves a disadvantaged community with high levels of free school meals and SEN support, is part of Co-op Academies Trust, and has had a new headteacher since September 2024. Notable strengths include a deeply inclusive culture, highly effective support for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, positive behaviour and attendance, a broad and well-sequenced curriculum, strong teaching and staff development, and a caring personal development programme. Pupils feel safe, attend well and achieve particularly well in writing, while early reading and phonics are secure. Governance and trust support are effective, and parents are very positive about the school. Concerns are limited. Early years activities do not always build on what children already know, so some children learn less than they could. Mathematics is improving but some pupils' depth of understanding is less secure, and leaders need to continue embedding curriculum improvements so that pupils develop a deep body of knowledge consistently across subjects.

Strengths

• Deeply inclusive culture with high expectations and positive relationships
• Highly effective tailored support for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils
• Strategic whole-school approach to attendance that has improved pupils' attendance
• Highly positive behaviour underpinned by clear routines and restorative approaches
• Broad, ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum
• Teaching is underpinned by strong subject knowledge and effective language strategies
• High-quality staff training, coaching and support for early career teachers
• Strong leadership and governance with effective trust support and challenge
• Highly effective personal development programme that promotes well-being and responsibility
• Wide range of enrichment opportunities accessible to all pupils
• Secure early reading and phonics with frequent checks and timely support
• Writing is a strength, including for disadvantaged pupils
• Pupils feel safe and bullying or discriminatory incidents are rare
• Parents are very supportive of the school

Areas for Improvement

• Early years learning activities do not consistently build on what children already know, limiting progress for some children
• Some pupils' depth of understanding in mathematics is less secure, and maths outcomes have been below national average over recent years
• Curriculum and outcomes improvements need further embedding so pupils develop a deep body of knowledge consistently across subjects

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 Clarice Cliff attended 95.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.4% 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, 0.3% of pupils at Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff 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 Clarice Cliff had 18.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.2% 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, 19.3% of pupils at Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.7% 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 Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff received £7,452 and spent £7,642 for each of its 399 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £287,000 (£719 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 Clarice Cliff is part of The Co-Operative Academies Trust, which runs 40 schools. The nearest others:

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

What is Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff is Expected standard, from an inspection in January 2026.

When was Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff last inspected by Ofsted?

Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff was last inspected in January 2026.

How many pupils does Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff have?

Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff has 373 pupils on roll.

What age range does Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff cover?

Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 71% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff?

Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff is at GOLDENHILL ROAD, FENTON, STOKE-ON-TRENT, STAFFORDSHIRE, ST4 3DP.