Bellfield Junior School

Bellfield Junior School is performing securely overall. Its personal development and wellbeing provision is judged strong standard, while achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance are at expected standard. Safeguarding standards are met. Pupils are happy, safe and behave well, and attendance is improving, including for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. The school serves a community with well-above-average free school meals eligibility and above-average SEN support, and it runs a resourced provision for pupils with autism spectrum disorder called 'Temple'. The school's main strengths are its tailored personal development programme, strong pastoral care, inclusive SEND provision, rich wider opportunities, and effective leadership and governance. Pupils achieve broadly in line with national expectations, with mathematics outcomes above national averages and disadvantaged pupils doing particularly well in mathematics. Pupils become fluent readers and are prepared well for secondary school. However, writing is less strong than reading and mathematics, partly because expectations for handwriting are inconsistent and basic grammar, punctuation and spelling errors are not always corrected across the curriculum. Teachers also do not consistently use assessment to adapt learning so that all pupils can achieve their full potential. Leaders have a clear understanding of priorities and are taking appropriate action. Governors challenge and support effectively, staff feel well supported, and parents are overwhelmingly positive. The next steps are to strengthen the correction and application of basic writing skills across subjects and to ensure assessment information is used more astutely to deepen pupils' knowledge and understanding.

Strengths

• Personal development and wellbeing is judged strong standard, with a programme tailored to the school community and the 'Bellfield Child' vision.
• Pastoral support is a particular strength; staff know pupils and families well and respond quickly when extra help is needed.
• Pupils feel valued, included, safe and ambitious for their futures.
• The PSHE curriculum builds pupils' understanding of healthy relationships, wellbeing, diversity, equality and online safety.
• Pupils develop a mature understanding of consent, peer influence, British values and making informed choices.
• The school offers a rich range of clubs, performances, sporting events, visits and leadership roles.
• Pupils behave well, relationships are positive, and bullying or discriminatory behaviour is uncommon.
• Attendance is improving and persistent absence is reducing, including for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious and well sequenced, and teachers receive effective training and support.
• Most pupils remember important learning, become fluent readers by the end of key stage 2, and are prepared well for secondary school.
• Mathematics outcomes are above national averages, including for disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are supported effectively, including through the 'Temple' resourced provision.
• Leaders and governors have an accurate understanding of the school's strengths and priorities and take timely action.
• Staff feel respected, motivated and well supported, and parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school.
• Pupils gain confidence, resilience and responsibility through wider opportunities and leave as respectful, thoughtful young people.

Areas for Improvement

• Variability in teachers' expectations of legibility and fluency of handwriting means attainment in writing is not as strong as in reading and mathematics.
• Basic errors in pupils' grammar, punctuation, spelling and handwriting are not consistently corrected across the curriculum.
• Teachers do not always use assessment information effectively to adapt learning opportunities so all pupils achieve their full potential.
• Published reading and writing outcomes have been below national averages over the latest three-year period.

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 Bellfield Junior School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.5% 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, 4.3% of pupils at Bellfield Junior School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 2 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 Bellfield Junior School had 17.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 19.2% of pupils at Bellfield Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.5% 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 Bellfield Junior School received £9,423 and spent £10,248 for each of its 229 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £247,000 (-£1,080 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

All schools in Birmingham · Birmingham local authority: places and applications

What is Bellfield Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bellfield Junior School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Bellfield Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bellfield Junior School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Bellfield Junior School have?

Bellfield Junior School has 229 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bellfield Junior School cover?

Bellfield Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Bellfield Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 57% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Bellfield Junior School?

Bellfield Junior School is at Vineyard Road, Northfield, Birmingham, West Midlands, B31 1PT.