Cold Aston Church of England Primary School

Cold Aston Church of England Primary School is a small, mixed-age primary academy that inspectors found to be performing well overall. Personal development is a particular standout, with pupils benefiting from a wide range of rich experiences, strong pupil voice and a caring ethos summed up by the school’s vision of ‘journeying together with love and trust’. Pupils typically behave sensibly, attend well and are well supported by staff, and parents are highly positive about the school. The curriculum is ambitious and reading is a clear priority, with younger pupils learning phonics quickly and receiving timely support if they fall behind. Staff know pupils well, adapt learning effectively for pupils with SEND, and benefit from strong trust support and professional development. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and trustees and the local academy council have secure oversight. The main areas for improvement concern how well pupils connect new learning to prior learning and how reliably they secure important knowledge in long-term memory. In some wider curriculum subjects, assessment and recall systems are less developed than in others, so the depth of pupils’ knowledge varies between subjects. This was the school’s first section 5 inspection; it converted to academy status in 2022 and is part of North Cotswold Schools Federation MAT. The early years provision was not graded because there were fewer than five children on roll in that phase.

Strengths

• A caring, values-led ethos gives pupils a strong sense of belonging and trust in staff.
• Pupils typically behave well, listen carefully and collaborate harmoniously across ages.
• Reading is a priority, with effective phonics teaching and timely support for pupils who fall behind.
• Staff place a sharp focus on developing pupils’ communication and vocabulary.
• The curriculum is ambitious and adapted well for mixed-age classes.
• Pupils with SEND are identified effectively and supported to access the same curriculum as their peers.
• Attendance is high because the school manages it robustly.
• Personal development is exceptionally strong, with rich experiences, clubs and pupil voice.
• Staff are proud to work at the school and value the attention given to workload and professional development.
• Trustees and the local academy council provide secure oversight and support.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Parents describe the school as a ‘gem’ in the community that is ‘building good humans’.

Areas for Improvement

• The school does not always make links to pupils’ prior learning explicit enough, limiting depth of understanding.
• Assessment checks occasionally lack precision in some subjects, so pupils do not always secure important knowledge in long-term memory.
• In a few wider curriculum subjects, systems to help pupils recall knowledge are less developed than in others.
• Some pupils cannot retrieve important curriculum content easily because recall systems are inconsistent.

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 Cold Aston Church of England Primary School attended 96.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.4% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Cold Aston 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 Cold Aston Church of England Primary School had 13.5 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

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, 8.1% of pupils at Cold Aston Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.0% 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 Cold Aston Church of England Primary School received £9,107 and spent £8,569 for each of its 55 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £163,000 (£2,956 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of North Cotswold Schools Federation Mat, income was £8,366 and spending £7,817 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 Cheltenham (Cotswold) · Gloucestershire local authority: places and applications

Cold Aston Church of England Primary School is part of North Cotswold Schools Federation Mat, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• Swell Church of England Primary School Cotswold
• Longborough Church of England Primary School Moreton-In-Marsh
• St Andrew's Church of England Primary School Chedworth
• St James and Ebrington Church of England Primary School Chipping Campden

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

The latest Ofsted rating for Cold Aston Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

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

Cold Aston Church of England Primary School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Cold Aston Church of England Primary School have?

Cold Aston Church of England Primary School has 74 pupils on roll.

What age range does Cold Aston Church of England Primary School cover?

Cold Aston Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Cold Aston Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 83% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Cold Aston Church of England Primary School?

Cold Aston Church of England Primary School is at Cold Aston, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL54 3BN.