Thornton Primary School

Thornton Primary School continues to demonstrate good performance, characterized by a welcoming and inclusive environment where pupils thrive. The school maintains high expectations for all students, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, resulting in commendable achievements in writing and mathematics. Pupils exhibit pride in their work and cultivate excellent relationships with both peers and staff. Parental support for the school is notably high, reflecting confidence in the quality of education and care provided. However, there are areas requiring improvement, particularly in the sequencing and assessment of the curriculum in certain subjects. While reading is prioritized and students have access to a wealth of quality texts, some pupils, especially those at the early stages of reading, do not make the rapid progress needed to keep pace with their peers. Systematic assessments and focused training for staff on phonics instruction are necessary to bolster early reading success. This is the first ungraded inspection since the school was previously judged as 'good' in October 2017.

Strengths

• Inclusive and welcoming learning environment
• High expectations for all pupils, including those with SEND
• Pupils achieve well in writing and mathematics
• Strong emphasis on personal development and extra-curricular activities
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Supportive parental community

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent use of assessment across all subjects
• Phonics instruction not consistently robust for early readers

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 Thornton Primary School attended 93.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.9% 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, 0.8% of pupils at Thornton Primary 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 Thornton Primary School had 20.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.3% 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, 12.5% of pupils at Thornton Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.6% 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 Thornton Primary School received £7,362 and spent £7,408 for each of its 473 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £322,000 (£681 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).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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What is Thornton Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Thornton Primary School is Good, from an inspection in July 2023.

When was Thornton Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Thornton Primary School was last inspected in July 2023.

How many pupils does Thornton Primary School have?

Thornton Primary School has 473 pupils on roll.

What age range does Thornton Primary School cover?

Thornton Primary School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

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

In 2025, 67% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Thornton Primary School?

Thornton Primary School is at Thornton Road, Ward End, Birmingham, West Midlands, B8 2LQ.