The Richard Clarke First School
The Richard Clarke First School is an academy converter in Rugeley for pupils aged 4 to 9. It has 106 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for The Richard Clarke First School is Good, from an inspection in January 2017 of its predecessor, The Richard Clarke First School. It has more teachers for its size than most primary schools: 15.6 pupils for each teacher in 2025/26, against 20.7 nationally.
Ofsted inspection: June 2024.
| Type | Primary / Academy converter |
| Age Range | 4-9 |
| Religion | Does not apply |
| Address | Schoolhouse Lane Abbots Bromley Rugeley Staffordshire WS15 3BT |
| Reference Number | 148506 |
General Makeup
| Number of pupils | 106 |
| Boy/Girl ratio |
Boys: 51.89%
Girls: 48.11% |
| Percentage of students eligible for free school meals | 2.8% |
| Percentage of students where English is not their first language | 0% |
Class Sizes
| Average size of one teacher classes | 21.2 |
| Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher | 22.3 |
| Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher | 19.5 |
Year Groups
| Year | Boys | Girls | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 12 | 21 |
| 2 | 9 | 10 | 19 |
| 3 | 11 | 7 | 18 |
| 4 | 15 | 6 | 21 |
Ethnicities
| Ethnicity | Percentage |
|---|---|
| White, British | 94.3% |
| White & Black (Caribbean) | 1.9% |
| Mixed, Other | 1.9% |
| White, Other | 0.9% |
| White & Asian | 0.9% |
This school has not been graded since it changed URN, usually on converting to an academy. The rating shown is from its predecessor, The Richard Clarke First School, inspected in January 2017.
| Overall Ofsted Rating | Good |
| Last Report Date | 02 May 2024 – no overall grade published for this inspection |
| Date | Report |
|---|---|
| 02 May 2024 | School inspection |
| 09 Sep 2021 | Academy conversion letter |
| 10 Jan 2017 | Short inspection |
| Previously as The Richard Clarke First School | |
| 22 Feb 2012 | Full inspection: |
| 30 Jun 2010 | Interim assessment |
| 29 Jan 2007 | Full inspection: |
| 30 Sep 2002 | Full inspection |
Reception admissions, 2026 entry
Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment
| Number of Applications | Number of Offers | |
| First Preference | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment |
| Second Preference | 3 | 0 |
| Third Preference | 2 | 0 |
| From another Local Authority | 0 | 0 |
Previous years
Sample
UnlockPlaces and pupil numbers
In 2024–25 The Richard Clarke First School had 106 pupils for 150 places. 44 places (29.3%) were unfilled.
Pupils and places
Reception intake in the “Uttoxeter 2 Primary” planning area
Staffordshire counted 60 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 53 in 2029–30, down 12%.
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Places | 150 | 150 | 150 | 150 |
| Pupils | 127 | 118 | 100 | 106 |
| Unfilled | 15.3% | 21.3% | 33.3% | 29.3% |
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 The Richard Clarke First School attended 96.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.7% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).
Sessions missed
Pupils persistently absent
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authorised absence | 2.8% | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2.3% |
| Unauthorised absence | 0.8% | 0.9% | 1.5% | 1.0% |
| Severely absent pupils | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
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 The Richard Clarke First School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.
Pupils suspended at least once
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspensions per 100 pupils | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Permanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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 The Richard Clarke First School had 15.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).
Pupils per teacher
Teachers who left the school within a year
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils per adult | 12.2 | 11.2 | 9.5 | 12.7 | 8.9 |
| Teachers who left state teaching | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | – |
| Teachers who took any sick leave | – | 50.0% | 66.7% | 25.0% | – |
| Sick days per teacher | – | 3.1 | 3.8 | 1.1 | – |
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, 17.0% of pupils at The Richard Clarke First School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).
Pupils by main type of need
| SEN support | EHC plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Speech, language and communication needs | 5 | 1 |
| Specific learning difficulty | 5 | 1 |
| Social, emotional and mental health | 2 | 3 |
| No specialist assessment of need | 4 | 0 |
| Physical disability | 1 | 1 |
| Vision impairment | 1 | 0 |
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 The Richard Clarke First School received £6,834 and spent £7,958 for each of its 109 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £151,000 (£1,387 per pupil).
Across all 9 schools of Innovate2Educate Partnership Limited, income was £7,110 and spending £7,298 per pupil.
Income per pupil
Spending per pupil
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue reserve | £306,000 | £281,000 | £269,000 | £151,000 |
| per pupil | £2,429 | £2,338 | £2,615 | £1,387 |
| In-year balance | £96,000 | £36,000 | -£8,000 | -£122,000 |
| per pupil | £762 | £298 | -£75 | -£1,124 |
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.
| Name | Distance |
|
Talbot First School
Church Lane, Kingstone, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, ST14 8QJ |
3.29 miles |
|
The St. Mary's CofE Primary School
Bellamour Way, Colton, Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 3LN |
3.3 miles |
|
Needwood CofE Primary School
Yoxall Road, Newborough, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, DE13 8SU |
3.41 miles |
|
Henry Chadwick Primary School
School Lane, Hill Ridware, Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 3QN |
4.29 miles |
|
Chancel Primary School
Wolseley Road, Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 2EW |
4.47 miles |
|
Forest Hills Primary School
School Road, Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 2PD |
4.57 miles |
|
Rugeley John Taylor
Kingfisher Avenue, Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 1FY |
4.71 miles |
|
Colwich CofE Primary School
Main Road, Colwich, Stafford, Staffordshire, ST17 0XD |
4.83 miles |
|
Etching Hill CofE Primary Academy
Penk Drive, Etching Hill, Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 2XY |
4.85 miles |
|
Churchfield CofE Primary Academy
Sandy Lane, Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 2LB |
4.96 miles |
|
The John Bamford Primary School
Crabtree Way, Etching Hill, Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 2PA |
4.96 miles |
| Name | Distance |
|
Rugeley School
Blithbury Road, Blithbury, Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 3JQ |
2.99 miles |
|
Loxley Hall School
Stafford Road, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, ST14 8RS |
4.77 miles |
All schools in Rugeley · Staffordshire local authority: places and applications
The Richard Clarke First School is part of Innovate2Educate Partnership Limited, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:
- Picknalls First School Uttoxeter
- Oldfields Hall Middle School Uttoxeter
- Windsor Park CE Middle School Uttoxeter
- Thomas Alleyne's High School Uttoxeter
- Bramshall Meadows First School Uttoxeter
- All Saints' CofE First School Stoke-On-Trent
- Hutchinson Memorial CofE First School Stoke-On-Trent
- Ryecroft CofE Middle School Rocester
What is The Richard Clarke First School's Ofsted rating?
The latest Ofsted rating for The Richard Clarke First School is Good, from an inspection in January 2017 of its predecessor, The Richard Clarke First School.
When was The Richard Clarke First School last inspected by Ofsted?
The Richard Clarke First School was last inspected in June 2024.
How many pupils does The Richard Clarke First School have?
The Richard Clarke First School has 106 pupils on roll.
What age range does The Richard Clarke First School cover?
The Richard Clarke First School for pupils aged 4 to 9.
Where is The Richard Clarke First School?
The Richard Clarke First School is at Schoolhouse Lane, Abbots Bromley, Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 3BT.