School Chooser

Woodcocks' Well CofE Primary School

Primary · ages 4-11MixedChurch of England99 pupilsStoke-on-TrentCheshire East
School Chooser Score
4
Well below
similar schools
Likely range 2 to 12
Out of 100. Better than 2% of the 50 schools most like it. Getting better year on year.
OfstedRequires improvementLast Ofsted inspection, July 2024
Reached the expected level at 1133%England 63%
Attendance95.4%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families14%Far fewer than most schools
Places21 spare99 pupils, 120 places
Pupils per teacher16.5School workforce census

Woodcocks' Well CofE Primary School is a Church of England school (voluntary aided) in Stoke-on-Trent for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 99 pupils and room for 120. About 14 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 4 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 2% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was requires improvement, back in 2024.

Church Street, Mow Cop, Stoke-on-Trent, ST7 3NQ01782 512323woodcockswell.cheshire.sch.ukMrs Stephanie Beckett headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 10 July 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Requires improvement overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Requires improvement
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Requires improvement
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

12 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 1133%
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 score102.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score99.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 63%63%20172018: 77%77%20182019: 73%73%20192023: 18%18%20232024: 36%36%20242025: 33%33%2025
Since 2017: -30%Improving overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017Cheshire EastEngland
Pupils tested121417151316
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths33%36%18%73%77%63%65%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%13%0%0%7%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score102.0103.0102.0107.0105.0108.0106.2105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score99.0100.099.0104.0105.0105.0105.1104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score101.0100.0101.0111.0109.0109.0106.0105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard58%71%53%80%77%81%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard58%50%41%87%92%88%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)67%50%47%73%77%69%
Reading progressReading progress score-4.5+4.5+3.8+5.5
Maths progressMaths progress score-6.7+0.9+4.2+2.5

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.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

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 4.7 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.

A few spare places97 pupils for 105 places, 2024/25
92% full

About 8 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have fallen by 12% 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£249,995half sold for £185k to £335k
Homes sold49December 2023 to December 2025, Land Registry
Compared with the district-17%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 roll99Census January 2026
Places12082% full
Pupils from low-income families14%14% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English1%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support14%14 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%3 pupils with a plan
Average class size24.84 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils25%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)11%£17,050 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls52 / 47
White British pupils99%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 21.5 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 28.0 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (11), emotional and mental health (3), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (1), Specific learning difficulty (1), language and communications needs (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll99100105107109108
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals14%12%15%14%7%9%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language1%1%2%2%1%1%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support12%11%14%9%9%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans3%4%2%3%5%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.4% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance95.4%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school8.1%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.9%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence4.6%6.2%6.8%8.5%4.9%4.1%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.7%4.6%5.6%7.9%4.2%3.0%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.9%1.7%1.1%0.6%0.8%1.1%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence8.1%15.6%17.2%33.0%13.4%9.9%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.05.60.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers6.0full-time equivalent, 6 people
Pupils per teacher16.5Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants4.5full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£45,410
Teachers who left in the year0%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher16.82023/24

Money

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

Spend per pupil£7,652England £7,738. Total £765k
Income per pupil£7,586England £7,697. Total £759k
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,059England £3,480
Money in reserve5%Not much put by: £38k, £384 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£6,541it spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£7,652spent 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 m5012 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate47 per 1,000 people49% lower than the England average
Typical house price£300,000Cheshire East
Nearest bus stop270 mDales Green Corner, 12 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
Castle Primary SchoolAcademy400 m94Good 202338Compare
Thursfield Primary SchoolAcademy1.0 miles315Good 201977Compare
Kidsgrove Primary SchoolAcademy1.1 miles156Good 202218Compare
Scholar Green Primary SchoolCouncil1.2 miles227Good 202358Compare
Dove Bank Primary SchoolAcademy1.4 miles225Good 202324Compare
Knypersley First SchoolAcademy1.7 miles312No overall grade 202494Compare
St John the Evangelist Catholic AcademyAcademy1.7 miles190Not inspected65Compare
St Thomas' CofE Primary AcademyAcademy1.8 miles189Good 201929Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Woodcocks' Well CofE 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.

Beats2%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the bottom of its group. Its score of 4 is 46 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 0 · middle 50 · highest 96100

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 Woodcocks' Well CofE 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
Castle Primary SchoolAcademy400 m94Good 202338Compare
The Meadows Primary SchoolAcademy8.2 miles107Outstanding 202490Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 4 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 4% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 2 to 12. 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
-0.14
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 12 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%well below
-0.57
Ofsted grade, 2.2 years old
Progress pupils make20%below
-0.19
DfE progress measure; 12 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%above
+0.08
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%above
+0.05
2024/25; 86 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well below
-0.24
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 12 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 Woodcocks' Well CofE Primary School a good school?

The figures are weak. Woodcocks' Well CofE Primary School scores 4 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 2% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 2 to 12, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been getting better over the last five years.

What is Woodcocks' Well CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Woodcocks' Well CofE Primary School requires improvement at its last full inspection on 10 July 2024.

How good are Woodcocks' Well CofE Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 33% 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 Woodcocks' Well CofE Primary School have?

99 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 120 places, so it is 83% full.

Is Woodcocks' Well CofE Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 8 places were empty in 2024/25 (8% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Woodcocks' Well CofE Primary School?

Pupils were in school 95.4% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 8% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Woodcocks' Well CofE Primary School?

The average class had 24.8 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 25% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

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

Contact and details

Address
Church Street, Mow Cop, Stoke-on-Trent, ST7 3NQ
Telephone
01782 512323
Website
www.woodcockswell.cheshire.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Stephanie Beckett
Type of school
Church of England school (voluntary aided) (Voluntary aided school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England, Diocese of Chester
Local authority
Cheshire East
Ward
Odd Rode
Constituency
Congleton
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
111255 · LAESTAB 8953120 · UKPRN 10070482

Where these figures come from