Esland Daven School
Unit 2 Dane Valley Mill, Havannah Street, Congleton, CW12 2AHOpen in maps (opens in a new tab)
Esland Daven School is a special school in Congleton for ages 8 to 18. It is one of the 175 schools in Cheshire East. Its latest Ofsted outcome is a report card, from an inspection in February 2026.
Ofsted report card
Inspected 3 February 2026, report published 23 June 2026
Each area is graded from urgent improvement to exceptional, and safeguarding is either met or not met.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Safeguarding
- Met
What Ofsted said
From the inspection on 3 February 2026
For many pupils who attend Esland Daven School, this is their first positive experience of education. Pupils typically join the school from a range of previous settings and with a wide range of experiences of education. This includes pupils who have not accessed education for extended periods of time. The school supports pupils to be able to manage their emotions and to build positive relationships. Over time, this helps pupils to develop more positive attitudes to learning. Staff know pupils well as individuals. They use this in-depth knowledge to plan individual packages of support based on pupils’ vulnerabilities. All pupils who attend the school have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff skilfully recognise the challenges that pupils face and work closely with the clinical team to provide the support that helps pupils to reintegrate with education. That said, recent changes to the curriculum are at the early stages. As a result of this, pupils do not achieve as well as they could. Positive relationships with staff help pupils to build trust and start to learn what it means to show respect. Over time, pupils learn to respond to different challenges because staff know how to help them to succeed. This helps pupils to feel safe and secure. Although leaders do all that they can to promote positive attendance, this remains a key focus for improvement. Too many pupils do not attend regularly enough. This limits their ability to feel part of the school team and benefit from the wide-ranging support offered to help them to engage with education. Pupils have confidence in staff to deal with any incidents of bullying effectively. Consequently, they do not worry about it. Pupils gain valuable work experience opportunities. This helps to prepare them for when they come to leave the school.
What the school should improve
- Leaders should ensure that the school meets all of the independent school standards.
- Leaders should continue to develop the systems recently introduced to improve pupils' attendance so that they have a positive impact over time.
- Leaders should prioritise developments to the curriculum in foundation subjects so that pupils learn as well as they do in the core subjects and achieve well.
Pupil numbers and mix
23 pupils on roll, with places for 35
Schools near Esland Daven School
| School | Distance | Ofsted |
|---|---|---|
| Opal Education | 0.1 miles | No Ofsted inspection |
| Aidenswood School | 1 mile | Ofsted: Good |
| Roaches School | 4 miles | Ofsted: Inadequate |
| Wonder Star School | 5 miles | Report card: Expected standard |
| Cheshire Hall School | 6 miles | No Ofsted inspection |
School details
- School type
- Other independent special school
- Sector
- Independent
- Age range
- 8 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Ms Naseem Akhtar
- Phone
- 01260294909
- Address
- Unit 2 Dane Valley Mill, Havannah Street, Congleton, CW12 2AH
- Local authority
- Cheshire East
- URN
- 149448
School details from Get Information about Schools, 17 September 2026. Ofsted outcomes published to 31 August 2026. Pupil mix from the school census, 2025/26.