Water Mill Primary School

Water Mill Primary School is performing well overall. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils are articulate, confident and safe. Behaviour is consistently excellent, and leaders' rigorous work on attendance is beginning to pay off, although attendance has historically been below the national average. Most areas of provision are secure, with early years, inclusion, personal development and leadership all making a positive contribution. The school's strongest outcomes are in English and mathematics, where pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, achieve excellent results. Pupils who are newly arrived to the school also make excellent progress from their starting points, helped by leaders' strong knowledge of individual children and families. The school serves a diverse community with a high proportion of disadvantaged pupils and above-average SEN support. The main area needing attention is achievement in the wider curriculum. Pupils do not always produce work of the same quality as in English and mathematics, and opportunities for independent thinking, creativity and writing across subjects can be limited. Handwriting and spelling remain inconsistent, and support for SEND pupils is not yet consistently adapted in all subjects. Leaders are ambitious and work at pace, but they need to pause more often to evaluate what is working and ensure quality is consistent across the school.

Strengths

• Pupils' behaviour is consistently excellent, and they are focused and resilient in lessons.
• Leaders' rigorous work has improved attendance and made regular attendance the norm for many pupils.
• Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, achieve excellent outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Pupils with SEND and newly arrived pupils make excellent progress from their starting points.
• Early years gives children a positive start through home visits, strong relationships and well-planned activities.
• Inclusion is effective, with accurate identification of needs and strong support for pupils with SEND.
• Personal development is central, with a wide range of clubs, trips and leadership opportunities for pupils.
• Leaders and governors care deeply about the school community and have very high ambitions for pupils.
• Safeguarding has an open and positive culture, and pupils feel safe because they know and trust adults.
• Pupils are articulate, confident and proud of their diverse school community.
• Reading and phonics are prioritised, helping children become confident communicators.
• Staff are proud to work at the school and benefit from training and consideration of their wellbeing.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement in the wider curriculum is not yet as strong as in English and mathematics.
• The quality of pupils' work across the curriculum does not reflect the quality of lessons and experiences.
• Opportunities for independent thinking and creativity are limited in some subjects.
• Pupils are not always given opportunities to write about what they have learned in subjects.
• Adaptations for pupils with SEND are not consistently available in all subjects.
• Handwriting and spelling remain inconsistent across the school.
• Leaders work at pace and sometimes do not pause to evaluate what is working and what needs to change.
• Quality of provision is not yet consistent across all areas of the school.

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 Water Mill Primary School attended 93.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 19.4% 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 Water Mill 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 Water Mill Primary School had 21.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.0% 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, 19.5% of pupils at Water Mill Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.0% 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 Water Mill Primary School received £7,999 and spent £7,922 for each of its 205 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £296,000 (£1,442 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 Water Mill Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Water Mill Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Water Mill Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Water Mill Primary School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Water Mill Primary School have?

Water Mill Primary School has 205 pupils on roll.

What age range does Water Mill Primary School cover?

Water Mill Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Water Mill Primary School?

Water Mill Primary School is at Water Mill Close, Selly Oak, Birmingham, West Midlands, B29 6TS.