Esland Daven School, Congleton

Special
Other independent special school
Mixed
Ages 818

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Ms Naseem Akhtar
Pupils:23 / 35 capacity
LA:Cheshire East
Phone:01260294909
Address:Unit 2 Dane Valley Mill, Havannah Street, Congleton, CW12 2AH
Admissions:Not applicable
Status:open
Opened:9 February 2023

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 7 months ago

Report card - no overall grade (new Ofsted framework from Sep 2024)

Achievement
Needs Attention
Behaviour
Needs Attention
Personal Development
Expected Standard
Leadership
Needs Attention
Inspected 3 February 2026View full report
URN:149448
Diocese:Not applicable
Constituency:Congleton
Urban/Rural:Urban: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

Esland Daven School excels at helping pupils who have struggled in education before to develop trust, confidence and positive attitudes to learning. Staff understand each pupil deeply and tailor support to their individual needs, working closely with external agencies and clinical teams. The school's focus on emotional development and wellbeing helps pupils overcome barriers to learning and builds their self-esteem.

Key Strengths

  • Strong personal development and wellbeing support with tailored outdoor learning and music programmes
  • Excellent knowledge of individual pupils with flexible, responsive support packages
  • Recent improvements to reading, writing and mathematics teaching with clear pupil progress
  • Warm, supportive staff relationships that help pupils build trust and positive attitudes
  • Effective safeguarding culture where pupils feel safe and concerns are actively managed

Areas for Improvement

  • Achievement in foundation subjects (non-core subjects) lags behind core subjects
  • Attendance remains too low for too many pupils despite recent improvement efforts
  • Too few pupils work towards recognised qualifications
  • Some independent school standards have not yet been met
  • Curriculum in foundation subjects needs better sequencing of key knowledge

Safeguarding

Safeguarding standards are met with an open and positive culture where all legal requirements are fulfilled and pupils are made safer and feel safe.

Extracurricular Activities

Outdoor and adventurous activities, specialist music lessons, work experience

Esland Daven School is a special needs school that provides a first positive experience of education for many vulnerable pupils. While the school excels in supporting pupils' emotional development and wellbeing, it needs to improve achievement across wider subjects and attendance rates.

At a Glance

No

Boarding

No

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

No

Special Measures

Class Sizes

0.0

Avg class size

0

Total classes

2024/25 academic year

Getting There

Bus Stops

King Street (cnr)
107m · 2 min walk
Lambs House School (o/s)
139m · 2 min walk
St John's Road (nr)
320m · 5 min walk
Haworth Avenue (opp)
424m · 7 min walk
Fox Street (opp)
454m · 7 min walk
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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

66%

Available places

23 pupils

35 capacity

12 spare places available

Area Demand Pressure - Congleton

High pressure
New homes approved:868
Projected new pupils:156

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Congleton

Admissions Demand - Cheshire East

Low demand0.95x oversubscription

Places available

4,434

Applications

4,203

Got 1st preference

94.8%

Got preferred school

97.9%

Secondary admissions across Cheshire East (2025/26)

Inspection History(3)

3 February 2026Report card
Achievement
Behaviour
Personal Development
Leadership
23 January 2024
20 December 2022

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SEN Provision

How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.

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Pupil Demographics

The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.

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