Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Primary School

Christ The King is a welcoming, ambitious primary school that inspectors found to be performing well across all areas. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and the significant number who join mid-year or are learning English as an additional language, are expected to succeed and achieve well. Behaviour is strong, with respect central to school life; pupils are courteous and classrooms are calm. The curriculum is carefully planned from Reception to Year 6, especially for mixed-age classes, and phonics teaching is a notable strength, with well-trained staff and quick support for pupils who need it. Support for pupils with SEND is effective, and wider development is supported through clubs, outdoor learning and responsibilities such as caring for the school guinea pigs. Safeguarding is effective, and trust and governance arrangements are strong. There are two main areas for improvement. In a small number of subjects, teachers do not consistently use the curriculum information, so some essential knowledge is not taught in enough depth and pupils' knowledge is insecure. Attendance is also a concern: too many pupils do not attend regularly enough, which limits their learning. The school has recently strengthened attendance measures, but these are at an early stage and need greater consistency. The report notes that published phonics outcomes for recent Year 1 and Year 2 cohorts do not reflect the effective phonics teaching, partly because many pupils joined mid-key stage and were new to English.

Strengths

• High ambition for all pupils, including those with SEND
• Welcoming school that helps pupils joining mid-year to succeed
• Strong phonics programme delivered by well-trained staff
• Effective support for pupils with SEND, including well-chosen resources and staff training
• Well-planned curriculum from Reception to Year 6, adapted for mixed-age classes
• Pupils behave well, are courteous and respectful, and classrooms are calm
• Pupils benefit from a range of clubs, outdoor learning and wider experiences
• Effective trust evaluation and supportive local governance
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Staff workload and well-being are considered

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, teachers do not teach some essential curriculum knowledge in sufficient depth
• Some pupils' knowledge is insecure because curriculum delivery is inconsistent
• Too many pupils do not attend school regularly enough
• Attendance actions lack consistency and new measures are at an early stage

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 Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Primary School attended 92.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.9% 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, 1.1% of pupils at Christ The King Catholic and 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 Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Primary School had 20.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2023–24, 0.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 17.1%).

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, 25.0% of pupils at Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 9.5% 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 Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Primary School received £9,732 and spent £8,935 for each of its 92 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £167,000 (£1,815 per pupil).

Across all 15 schools of Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Academy Trust, income was £6,593 and spending £6,619 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 Macclesfield · Cheshire East local authority: places and applications

Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Primary School is part of Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Academy Trust, which runs 18 schools. The nearest others:

• All Hallows Catholic College Macclesfield
• St Alban's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Macclesfield
• St Paul's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy Stockport
• Saint Mary's Catholic Primary School Congleton
• St. Benedict's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Wilmslow
• St Vincent De Paul Catholic Primary School Knutsford
• St. Mary's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Middlewich
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy Winsford
• Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy Ellesmere Port
• St Saviour's Catholic Primary and Nursery School, A Voluntary Academy Ellesmere Port

What is Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Primary School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Primary School have?

Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Primary School has 84 pupils on roll.

What age range does Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Primary School cover?

Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 80% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Primary School?

Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Primary School is at Fir Grove, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 7SF.