Boldmere Junior School

Boldmere Junior School is a happy, busy and highly inclusive school where pupils thrive. Inspectors found that pupils love learning, behave exceptionally well, achieve strongly in many subjects and are especially confident in reading and mathematics. The curriculum is ambitious and well planned, staff are well trained, and leadership, governance and parent relationships are very strong. Pupils benefit from an exceptional range of personal development opportunities, including the Boldmere Pledge, clubs, trips and leadership roles. The school is federated with Boldmere Infant and Nursery School and includes a specially resourced provision for pupils with autism. This was its first routine inspection since 2011, having previously been exempt, and the report notes the impact of the pandemic on the school’s inspection history. The school is highly inclusive and supports pupils with SEND well overall, including those in the specially resourced provision. The main area for improvement is that, on occasion, teaching is not adapted precisely enough for pupils who find learning challenging, especially some pupils with SEND. As a result, a small number of pupils do not achieve as well as they could. Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, proud of their school and eager to learn.
• Pupils behave exceptionally well in lessons and around the school.
• Pupils achieve well across many subjects and excel in reading and mathematics.
• The curriculum is highly ambitious, well planned and builds progressively.
• Teachers make purposeful links between subjects and regularly revisit prior learning.
• Reading is central to the curriculum, with strong support for pupils who struggle.
• Personal development is exceptional, with a wide range of clubs, trips and leadership roles.
• The school prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain through its diversity and faith curriculum.
• The school is highly inclusive and supports pupils with SEND, including in the specially resourced provision.
• Leadership is highly effective, and governors provide strong challenge and support.
• Staff are proud to work at the school and value steps to reduce workload and improve work-life balance.
• Relationships with parents and carers are purposeful and built on trust.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Some staff do not consistently adapt tasks well enough to meet the needs of pupils who find learning challenging, especially pupils with SEND.
• On occasion, pupils are not working with enough precision in some subjects, so a small number do not achieve as well as they could.

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 Boldmere Junior School attended 95.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.5% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Boldmere Junior 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 Boldmere Junior School had 17.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.8% 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, 15.8% of pupils at Boldmere Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has a SEN unit with 13 pupils.

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 Boldmere Junior School received £6,928 and spent £7,186 for each of its 379 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £76,000 (-£201 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 Sutton Coldfield · Birmingham local authority: places and applications

What is Boldmere Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Boldmere Junior School is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Boldmere Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Boldmere Junior School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Boldmere Junior School have?

Boldmere Junior School has 379 pupils on roll.

What age range does Boldmere Junior School cover?

Boldmere Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

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

In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Boldmere Junior School?

Boldmere Junior School is at Cofield Road, Boldmere, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B73 5SD.