Christ Church CofE First School, Stone
Christ Church CofE First School is a primary school for pupils aged 5 to 9 in Stone, part of The Key Educational Trust. It has a Church of England religious character. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in February 2014. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in November 2024 did not change this grade. It was 93% full in 2025.
- Ofsted
- Good (2014)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Staffordshire (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Christ Church CofE First School in detail
Getting a place at Christ Church CofE First School
For September 2026 entry, 23 families put Christ Church CofE First School as their first choice and 61 named it as one of their preferences, for 25 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Christ Church CofE First School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Christ Church CofE First School are St Dominic's Catholic Primary School (0.1 miles, Outstanding, 96% reading, 96% maths); Manor Hill First School (0.7 miles, Good); Pirehill First School (0.8 miles, Good); and St Michael's CofE (C) First School (1 mile, Good).
St Dominic's Catholic Primary SchoolManor Hill First SchoolPirehill First SchoolSt Michael's CofE (C) First School
The trust
Christ Church CofE First School is one of 5 schools run by The Key Educational Trust, an academy trust.
What parents say
37 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Christ Church CofE First School (as of September 2025): 92% would recommend the school, 97% say their child is happy there and 29% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that the school supports their child's wider development (97%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (29%).
Who goes there
16.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 7.5% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (82%) and Mixed (7%).
In 2026, 20 pupils (16.7%) received SEN support and 2 (1.7%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is a moderate learning difficulty.
Staffing
Christ Church CofE First School had 9 teachers in 2026, one for every 14 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Stone Rail Station, about 530 metres away (roughly a 7-minute walk).
7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Albert Street (opposite), 150 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Christ Church CofE First School stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Christ Church CofE First School issued 5 suspensions, 4.1 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Christ Church CofE First School are Christ Church Academy (0.3 miles), Alleyne's Academy (0.5 miles) and Walton Priory Middle School (0.9 miles).
Christ Church AcademyAlleyne's AcademyWalton Priory Middle School
Sources: DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from February 2014, 12 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: Standards have been maintained.
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's November 2024 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Christ Church is a warm, welcoming community where children feel safe and valued. The school excels in teaching reading with skilled phonics instruction and works hard to develop confident readers. All pupils, including those with additional needs, receive excellent support and achieve well through strong inclusive practices.
Key Strengths
- Strong reading curriculum with skilled phonics teaching and a focus on developing a love of reading
- Highly inclusive approach to supporting pupils with SEND, with quick identification of needs and effective staff collaboration
- Broad and interesting range of enrichment activities supporting pupils' personal development and understanding of diversity
- Well-planned curriculum in most subjects with good pupil progress and regular knowledge checks
- Excellent attendance support with detailed and thorough work to maintain regular attendance
Areas for Improvement
- Mathematics curriculum at an earlier stage of development with gaps in pupils' prior knowledge and insufficient checking of how well pupils are learning
- School does not always accurately and robustly check the impact of its improvement strategies, which slows the pace of improvement
- Governors have not challenged the school's evaluations robustly enough in some areas, limiting their understanding of the school's actions
Safeguarding
The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with the school creating an open and positive culture that puts pupils' interests first.
Extracurricular Activities
Kung Fu, cookery, author visits, reading buddies, worship leaders, playground buddies, online safety teaching, performances at local venues
Christ Church CofE First School is a nurturing, close-knit community where pupils arrive happy and behave well. The school has maintained good standards and continues to provide a welcoming environment with strong support for all learners.
At a Glance
16.7%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
37 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Class Sizes
24.0
Avg class size
22.3
Infant (KS1)
26.5
KS2
5
Total classes
1 class with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Latest from Christ Church CofE First School
Friday Newsletter 02.10.26
2 Oct 2026
Owl visit
1 Oct 2026
Music Award
28 Sep 2026
After School Clubs
3 Sep 2026
PE Days 2026
3 Sep 2026
From Christ Church CofE First School's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Social & online
Keep up with Christ Church CofE First School
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Christ Church CofE First School.
- Little Stars Childcare Out Of School ClubAt the school · Not yet graded
Term dates
Christ Church CofE First School is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Staffordshire's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Christ Church CofE First School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Christ Church CofE First School is in Staffordshire; for families living there:
Apply to Staffordshire for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 10
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 3
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 10 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 7 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
5 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Staffordshire is 5 (the median across 457 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Christ Church CofE First School
Will you get a place at Christ Church CofE First School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Christ Church CofE First School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Christ Church CofE First School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Christ Church CofE First School.
- Staffordshire publishes last distance offered figures, but none for Christ Church CofE First School that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Christ Church CofE First School for 2017 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Staffordshire got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
93%
Near capacity
125 pupils
135 places
10 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Stone
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Stone
Across Staffordshire council
Places available
10,768
Applications
8,344
Got 1st preference
95.1%
Got preferred school
99.1%
All primary applications across Staffordshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
20
SEN Support
2
EHC Plans
18.3%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
120
Total Pupils
69
Boys
51
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
9
Teachers
13.3:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£53,522
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,687
Per pupil
£749k
Total funding
£38k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.4%
Overall absence
11.5%
Persistent absence
113
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Christ Church CofE First School
Questions parents ask about Christ Church CofE First School
What is Christ Church CofE First School's Ofsted rating?
Christ Church CofE First School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in November 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in February 2014, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Christ Church CofE First School?
No fixed boundary. When Christ Church CofE First School is oversubscribed, Staffordshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Christ Church CofE First School?
Christ Church CofE First School was not full in 2025: it ran at 93% of its 135 places.
How big are the classes at Christ Church CofE First School?
Classes at Christ Church CofE First School average 24 pupils (2025/26). 1 class has more than 30 pupils - infant classes are capped at 30 by law, with limited exceptions.
How many pupils go to Christ Church CofE First School?
Christ Church CofE First School has around 120 pupils on roll. 17% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Christ Church CofE First School?
4.4% of sessions were missed at Christ Church CofE First School in 2024/25. 11.5% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Christ Church CofE First School?
Apply through Staffordshire's coordinated admissions process, naming Christ Church CofE First School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
Does Christ Church CofE First School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club at the school: Little Stars Childcare Out Of School Club (registered, not yet graded). The school may also run its own clubs, which don't have to register with Ofsted.
How many road collisions happen near Christ Church CofE First School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 10 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 7 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 5 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Staffordshire is 5 (the median across 457 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Christ Church CofE First School?
Christ Church CofE First School is at Northesk Street, Stone, Staffordshire, ST15 8EP.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)