Somerville Primary (NC) School

Somerville Primary (NC) School is a large, inclusive primary in a deprived part of Birmingham with a high proportion of disadvantaged pupils. Inspectors found the school performing at the expected standard across all areas, with safeguarding met. Pupils achieve well and are ready for the next stage: reading, writing and mathematics knowledge is secure by the end of Year 6, mathematics is above national averages, and disadvantaged pupils significantly outperform disadvantaged pupils nationally. Pupils with SEND also progress well from their starting points. Attendance has improved to national levels, and behaviour is calm and orderly. The school's strongest features are its inclusive ethos, strong leadership and governance, and highly tailored personal development. Vulnerable pupils, including those with complex SEND, are supported effectively and access the full curriculum and wider opportunities. Leaders understand the community and work closely with families; staff morale is high, and pupils are tolerant, respectful and well prepared for life in modern Britain. There are a few areas for development. The recent improvements to handwriting are not yet consistently embedded across the curriculum, and teaching in some foundation subjects does not reliably produce the same high-quality work as in English and mathematics. In the early years, staff sometimes miss chances to extend children's learning through high-quality interactions. Overall, this is a well-led school with a clear understanding of what to improve next.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve well and are prepared for the next stage, with secure reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• Disadvantaged pupils significantly outperform disadvantaged pupils nationally in national tests.
• Pupils with SEND progress well from their starting points due to thoughtful adaptations.
• Attendance is now in line with national averages, and disadvantaged pupils attend far better than their peers nationally.
• Pupils behave well and learn in a calm, orderly environment.
• Bullying and discrimination are rare and dealt with decisively.
• The curriculum is well sequenced and matched to pupils' needs and interests.
• Inclusion is at the heart of the school, with vulnerable pupils integrating seamlessly and receiving effective support.
• The Hub supports pupils with complex SEND successfully in a calm and caring environment.
• Early years provides a warm welcome and strong transition to Year 1.
• Leaders, including governors, have accurate knowledge of strengths and priorities and support staff wellbeing.
• Personal development is highly tailored and ensures all pupils access clubs, trips and wider opportunities.
• Strong community links and parental partnerships support learning and safety.
• Pupils are tolerant, respectful and well prepared for life in modern Britain.
• Safeguarding is effective, with an open culture where concerns are identified and managed.

Areas for Improvement

• Handwriting improvements are not yet consistently embedded across the full curriculum.
• Teaching in some foundation subjects does not consistently enable pupils to produce high-quality work.
• Early years staff sometimes miss opportunities for high-quality interactions that extend children's knowledge and vocabulary.
• Work in the wider curriculum is sometimes not to the same high standard as in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Teaching across the wider curriculum is less consistently effective than in English and mathematics.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Somerville Primary (NC) School attended 94.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.6% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at Somerville Primary (NC) School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Somerville Primary (NC) School had 25.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.2% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 16.9% of pupils at Somerville Primary (NC) School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Somerville Primary (NC) School received £7,969 and spent £8,071 for each of its 695 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £339,000 (£488 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

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What is Somerville Primary (NC) School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Somerville Primary (NC) School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Somerville Primary (NC) School last inspected by Ofsted?

Somerville Primary (NC) School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Somerville Primary (NC) School have?

Somerville Primary (NC) School has 722 pupils on roll.

What age range does Somerville Primary (NC) School cover?

Somerville Primary (NC) School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Somerville Primary (NC) School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Somerville Primary (NC) School?

Somerville Primary (NC) School is at Somerville Road, Small Heath, Birmingham, West Midlands, B10 9EN.