School Chooser

Daven Primary School

Primary · ages 2-11MixedAcademy137 pupilsNursery Free breakfast clubCongletonCheshire East
School Chooser Score
16
Below
similar schools
Likely range 7 to 34
Out of 100. Better than 50% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedAs expected teachingOfsted report card, May 2026
Reached the expected level at 1161%England 63%
Attendance91.5%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families58%Far more than most schools
Places73 spare137 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher16.5School workforce census

Daven Primary School is a converter academy in Congleton for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. It has 137 pupils and room for 210. About 58 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 16 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 50% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted visited in May 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.

New Street, Congleton, CW12 3AH01260 228088daven.cheshire.sch.ukMrs Jennifer Gosling headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted visited on 6 May 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.

TeachingOfsted calls this “curriculum and teaching”
As expected
Achievement
As expected
Behaviour and attendanceOfsted calls this “attendance and behaviour”
As expected
Support for every childOfsted calls this “inclusion”
As expected
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development and wellbeing”
As expected
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and governance”
As expected
Early years
As expected
SafeguardingAre pupils kept safe?
Pupils are kept safe
Met
Ofsted's scale:ExceptionalStrong standardExpected standardNeeds attentionUrgent improvement

Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.

Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
26 September 2023S5 InspectionRequires improvement

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

18 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.

Reached the expected level at 1161%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level0%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score104.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score102.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 29%29%20172018: 30%30%20182019: 54%54%20192023: 48%48%20232024: 52%52%20242025: 61%61%2025
Since 2017: +32%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure2025202420232019†2018†2017†Cheshire EastEngland
Pupils tested182131242021
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths61%52%48%54%30%29%65%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%3%4%0%0%7%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score104.0104.0103.0100.099.0100.0106.2105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score102.0105.0102.0102.096.099.0105.1104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score100.0101.0101.0103.0101.0102.0106.0105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard83%76%58%58%50%38%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard78%86%71%71%30%38%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)67%52%61%54%50%33%
Reading progressReading progress score+1.0+0.1-3.0-0.7
Maths progressMaths progress score+1.0+0.0-4.7-2.0
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged38%33%33%36%21%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged75%80%89%22%43%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

† These results are for Daven Primary School, the school this one replaced in July 2019. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. None of the gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
44%78%
Gap 34 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Catchment area

Cheshire East council has drawn an official catchment area for this school. You can see it on the map below; it covers about 1.7 square kilometres. Living inside it moves your child up the queue when there are more applicants than places. It doesn't guarantee a place: the council's admissions rules decide the order.

Set your home postcode at the top of the page to see whether you live inside it.

Plenty of spare places139 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
66% full

71 places were empty (34% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 15% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Cheshire East council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

What a home inside the catchment costs

Typical sale price inside the catchment£206,750half sold for £165k to £315k
Homes sold190December 2023 to December 2025, Land Registry
Compared with the district-31%a typical home in the district sells for £300,000

Every home sold inside the council's catchment area, of any type, from HM Land Registry records. If homes here cost more than the district average, that is the price people pay to live close enough to get in.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll137Census January 2026
Places21065% full
Pupils from low-income families54%58% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English13%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support18%24 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan11%15 pupils with a plan
Average class size22.76 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils17%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)56%£106,950 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls72 / 65
White British pupils80%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 29.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 22.7 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (23), emotional and mental health (13), Moderate learning difficulty (2), Autistic spectrum disorder (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll137142130145162157
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals54%57%63%62%65%59%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language13%12%7%5%3%4%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support8%20%21%31%36%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans18%12%8%6%3%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 91.5% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance91.5%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school26.8%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils28.22024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.7%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19†England
Sessions missedOverall absence8.5%9.3%5.9%7.5%3.8%5.2%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence6.8%7.9%4.8%6.3%3.1%4.4%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.7%1.3%1.1%1.3%0.7%0.8%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence26.8%31.3%14.6%27.3%9.9%18.5%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate28.241.54.10.60.6
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

† These attendance figures are for Daven Primary School, the school this one replaced in July 2019. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers7.9full-time equivalent, 9 people
Pupils per teacher16.5Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants12.4full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£49,166
Teachers who left in the year13%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher4.62024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£9,606England £7,128. Total £1.4m
Income per pupil£9,676England £7,587. Total £1.4m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,627England £3,405
Money in reserve2%Very little put by: £27k, £188 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£10kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£9,606spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m34312 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate114 per 1,000 people25% higher than the England average
Typical house price£300,000Cheshire East
Nearest bus stop180 mTownsend Road, 16 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Marlfields Primary SchoolAcademy840 m177Requires improvement 20243Compare
Saint Mary's Catholic Primary SchoolAcademy0.6 miles183Requires improvement 202413Compare
Buglawton Primary SchoolCouncil0.8 miles202No overall grade 202447Compare
Mossley CofE Primary SchoolAcademy1.0 miles413Good 201974Compare
Astbury St Mary's CofE Primary SchoolAcademy1.2 miles99Good 202321Compare
Havannah Primary SchoolCouncil1.2 miles244No overall grade 202457Compare
The Quinta Primary SchoolAcademy1.4 miles491Good 202377Compare
Black Firs Primary SchoolAcademy1.7 miles372Good 202259Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Daven Primary School with the 48 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 48 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats50%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 16 is about the same as the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 1 · middle 18 · highest 89100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 48 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Daven Primary School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
St Peter's Church of England (VC) Junior SchoolChurch of England14.6 miles165Good 202428Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 16 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 16% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 7 to 34. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%below
-0.18
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 18 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%below
-0.12
Ofsted report card, 0.4 years old
Progress pupils make20%in line
-0.01
DfE progress measure; 18 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
-0.03
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%well below
-0.20
2024/25; 123 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%above
+0.04
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 18 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Daven Primary School a good school?

The figures are weak. Daven Primary School scores 16 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 50% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 7 to 34, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Daven Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 6 May 2026 it rated teaching as as expected, achievement as as expected, behaviour and attendance as as expected, leadership as as expected.

How good are Daven Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 61% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.

How many pupils does Daven Primary School have?

137 pupils aged 2 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 65% full.

Is Daven Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 71 places were empty in 2024/25 (34% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Daven Primary School?

Pupils were in school 91.5% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 27% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Daven Primary School?

The average class had 22.7 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 17% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

Does Daven Primary School have a breakfast club?

Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
New Street, Congleton, CW12 3AH
Telephone
01260 228088
Website
www.daven.cheshire.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Jennifer Gosling
Free breakfast club
Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 2-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
The Learning Partnership Academies Trust (15 schools)
Local authority
Cheshire East
Ward
Congleton West
Constituency
Congleton
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 July 2019 (academy converter)
URN
146995 · LAESTAB 8952705 · UKPRN 10083607
Formerly
Daven Primary School

Where these figures come from