Smallwood CofE Primary School, Sandbach
Smallwood CofE Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in Sandbach, part of The Smallwood Academy Trust. It has a Church of England religious character. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in March 2019. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in July 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 7th-highest of the 8 schools in Sandbach with published results, and 12,330th of 14,452 across England. It was full in 2025, at 105% of capacity.
- SATs results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2019)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Better than England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Cheshire East (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Smallwood CofE Primary School in detail
Smallwood CofE Primary School in its own words
In its own words: "At Smallwood CE Primary Academy, we are proud to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs ."
Vision and values (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 65% of Year 6 pupils at Smallwood CofE Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 61% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 80% and 78% in Cheshire East and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 95% in reading and 90% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at Smallwood CofE Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 19 families put Smallwood CofE Primary School as their first choice and 49 named it as one of their preferences, for 22 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 Smallwood CofE Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Smallwood CofE Primary School are Rode Heath Primary School (1.7 miles, Outstanding, 94% reading, 90% maths); St John's CofE Academy (2.1 miles); Scholar Green Primary School (2.6 miles, Good, 70% reading, 80% maths); and Pikemere School (2.6 miles, Good, 84% reading, 87% maths).
Each of them had higher 2025 results than Smallwood CofE Primary School.
Rode Heath Primary SchoolSt John's CofE AcademyScholar Green Primary SchoolPikemere School
The trust
Smallwood CofE Primary School is run by its own single-school academy trust.
Who goes there
6.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 3.4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 31 pupils (17.4%) received SEN support and 3 (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 social, emotional and mental health needs.
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Smallwood CofE Primary School.
3 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Primary School (outside), 20 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 2 crimes within a mile of the school, most often public order offences. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Cheshire East (61).
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Smallwood CofE Primary School issued 4 suspensions, 2.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; 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 March 2019, 7 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils appreciate the warm and nurturing relationships that they enjoy with staff and with each other at this small and happy school. Many pupils, who shared their views with the inspector, described their school as a family where everyone is welcome.
Pupils value the close links that the school enjoys with the local village. For example, they look forward to the opportunity to be crowned 'Rose King' or 'Queen', where they lead a procession from the school around the village.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
Leaders and staff have worked collaboratively to implement a curriculum that is ambitious and well designed. The key information that pupils should learn is introduced in small, well-ordered steps from the beginning of the early years to the end of Year 6. This supports them to build on their prior learning effectively.
The school provides staff with helpful curriculum guidance. This means that, for the most part, they teach subjects confidently. Mostly, staff use assessment systems well to identify any gaps or misconceptions in pupils' learning quickly. However, weaknesses in some pupils' written communication skills and lack of fluency with multiplication facts sometimes go unchecked. This means that some pupils lack the foundations on which to build when they move on to more complex content.
From Ofsted's July 2024 ungraded inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its March 2019 inspection - down from Outstanding.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
6.7%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 95% to 65% (2024 to 2025). Maths has declined from 90% to 61% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 95% to 74% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
25.4
Avg class size
26.3
Infant (KS1)
24.8
KS2
7
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Social & online
Keep up with Smallwood CofE Primary School
Term dates
Smallwood CofE Primary School is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Cheshire East's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Smallwood CofE Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Smallwood CofE Primary School is in Cheshire East; for families living there:
- Cheshire East's school travel policy: Compulsory school age travel policy
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
No injury road collisions were reported to the police within 500 m of the school's mapped location in 2021 to 2025.
The typical figure for schools in Cheshire East is 6 (the median across 180 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 Smallwood CofE Primary School
Will you get a place at Smallwood CofE Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Smallwood CofE Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Smallwood CofE Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Smallwood CofE Primary School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Cheshire East, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Smallwood CofE Primary School for 2015 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Cheshire East 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
105%
Over capacity
183 pupils
175 places
8 pupils over capacity in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Sandbach
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Sandbach
Across Cheshire East council
Places available
4,535
Applications
3,733
Got 1st preference
92.3%
Got preferred school
98.6%
All primary applications across Cheshire East council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(2)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
31
SEN Support
3
EHC Plans
19.1%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
178
Total Pupils
89
Boys
89
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
11
Teachers
16.2:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£46,727
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,269
Per pupil
£1044k
Total funding
£21k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.2%
Overall absence
9.3%
Persistent absence
161
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Questions parents ask about Smallwood CofE Primary School
What are SATs results like at Smallwood CofE Primary School?
Of the pupils at Smallwood CofE Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 65% reached the expected standard in reading and 61% did so in maths.
What is Smallwood CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?
Smallwood CofE Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in July 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in March 2019, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Smallwood CofE Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When Smallwood CofE Primary School is oversubscribed, Cheshire East allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Smallwood CofE Primary School?
Smallwood CofE Primary School was full in 2025, at 105% of its capacity, so places are allocated on the oversubscription criteria.
How big are the classes at Smallwood CofE Primary School?
Classes at Smallwood CofE Primary School average 25.4 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Smallwood CofE Primary School?
Smallwood CofE Primary School has around 178 pupils on roll. 7% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Smallwood CofE Primary School?
4.2% of sessions were missed at Smallwood CofE Primary School in 2024/25. 9.3% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Smallwood CofE Primary School?
Apply through Cheshire East's coordinated admissions process, naming Smallwood CofE Primary 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.
How many road collisions happen near Smallwood CofE Primary School?
No injury road collisions were reported to the police within 500 m of the school's mapped location in 2021 to 2025. The typical figure for schools in Cheshire East is 6 (the median across 180 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Smallwood CofE Primary School?
Smallwood CofE Primary School is at School Lane, Sandbach, CW11 2UR.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)