William Murdoch Primary School

William Murdoch Primary School is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating in its first routine inspection since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The school fosters a vibrant and welcoming environment where pupils are happy and safe, demonstrating respect and kindness towards one another. With strong leadership driving academic and personal achievements, the school promotes a broad curriculum that includes a strong focus on reading and personal development. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, leaders have maintained a commitment to ensuring pupils succeed both academically and in their personal growth.

Strengths

• Leaders are ambitious for all pupils and encourage them to 'be their best'.
• A wealth of clubs and activities supports the development of pupils' talents.
• Phonics is extremely well taught with staff receiving regular training.
• Pupils with special educational needs achieve well with appropriate support.
• The school has a strong focus on personal development and citizenship.

Areas for Improvement

• The curriculum in science and music needs further development and clearer sequencing.
• Middle leaders do not fully understand their roles in assessing curriculum impact.
• Governance routines have slipped due to the impact of COVID-19.

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 William Murdoch Primary School attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.4% 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 William Murdoch 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 William Murdoch Primary School had 20.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.6% 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, 9.6% of pupils at William Murdoch Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.4% 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 William Murdoch Primary School received £7,615 and spent £7,642 for each of its 575 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,018,000 (£1,771 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 William Murdoch Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for William Murdoch Primary School is Good, from an inspection in September 2022.

When was William Murdoch Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

William Murdoch Primary School was last inspected in September 2022.

How many pupils does William Murdoch Primary School have?

William Murdoch Primary School has 591 pupils on roll.

What age range does William Murdoch Primary School cover?

William Murdoch Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is William Murdoch Primary School?

William Murdoch Primary School is at Antrobus Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, West Midlands, B21 9NT.