Black Firs Primary School
General Information
- Address: Longdown Road, Congleton, CW12 4QJ – View on map
- Phone: 01260272935
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Anna Jones
- Age range: 3-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 43 families put it first for 44 places – 10 for every 10 places. 98% of them were offered a place. 1 of the 44 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 11 · 2024 12 · 2025 11 · 2026 10
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Does not apply
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 23
- % eligible for free school meals: 6.7%
- Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (less mixed than the Cheshire East average)
- English as an additional language: 1% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 17.2% a year (Cheshire East 12.6%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 50% moved to another school, 50% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
- Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (one year, DfE school workforce census)
Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.
Behaviour
Awaiting Data
Across Cheshire East: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 1 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
- Suspensions for bullying: 1 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 1 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
- Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)
These are figures for all state primary schools in Cheshire East, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.
Attendance
- Overall absence: 4.0%
- Persistently absent pupils: 5.9%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 11.6%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.2%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Speech, language and communications needs: 15 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 9 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 7 pupils
- SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 5 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 2 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
- Vision impairment: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2022 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 68% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: in line with the Cheshire East average (66%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 63% against an expected 66%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 63%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 83% · Writing 72% · Maths 79% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 74%
- Average test scores: reading 106, maths 105
- Based on: 47 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25
View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.
SATs results over time
Year 6 SATs: joint 55th of 114 junior and primary schools in the area
- =50Mottram St Andrew Primary Academy69%
- =50Puss Bank School and Nursery69%
- =55Black Firs Primary School68%
- =55Weaver Primary School68%
- =57Middlewich Primary School67%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
19th of 99 primary schools in Cheshire East for Ofsted rating
- #17Bexton Primary SchoolGood
- #18Bickerton Holy Trinity CofE Primary SchoolGood
- #19Black Firs Primary SchoolGood
- #20Bollinbrook CofE (A) Primary SchoolGood
- #21Bollington Cross CofE Primary SchoolGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £5,822 (2024-25)
101st of 121 primary schools in Cheshire East for spending per pupil
- #99Gawsworth Primary School£5,867
- #100Holmes Chapel Primary School£5,866
- #101Black Firs Primary School£5,822
- #102Highfields Academy£5,815
- #103Ashdene Primary School£5,797
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)