Walmley Junior School

Walmley Junior School is a happy, high-performing school where pupils feel safe, build warm relationships and achieve exceptionally well in English and mathematics. Personal development is a particular strength: pupils benefit from exemplary pastoral care, a highly ambitious life-skills programme and a wide range of visits, clubs and leadership roles. Most pupils behave well, reading is prioritised, and pupils with SEND are identified well. Governors are effective and staff feel valued. The curriculum is broad and ambitious, but implementation is not equally strong in a small number of subjects. In those subjects, important knowledge is not always identified and sequenced clearly, and some pupils move on too quickly before securing foundations, which can limit how well they build knowledge over time. Occasionally, low-level off-task behaviour in lessons is not addressed consistently, so some pupils become distracted and learn less well than they should. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2014. Under the current inspection arrangements, no overall effectiveness grade is awarded; safeguarding arrangements were judged effective.

Strengths

• Pupils are very happy, feel safe and enjoy warm, positive relationships with staff and each other.
• Pupils achieve exceptionally well in English and mathematics and produce high-quality work.
• The curriculum is broad and ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND.
• Reading is prioritised, and staff expertly support pupils to become fluent, confident readers.
• Personal development is exemplary, including the highly ambitious Walmley essentials life-skills programme.
• Pastoral care is a strength and is highly praised by parents and carers.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of educational visits, extra-curricular clubs and character-building opportunities.
• Pupils have a deep sense of tolerance and equality and treat each other with respect.
• Most pupils behave well and the school has high expectations for behaviour.
• Governors have the right skills to challenge and support the school, and staff feel appreciated and valued.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation varies in a small number of subjects, where important knowledge is not identified and sequenced clearly enough.
• Some pupils struggle because they move on too quickly before securing the foundations needed, affecting sequential knowledge building.
• Low-level off-task behaviour in lessons is occasionally not addressed by adults.
• The behaviour policy is not always applied consistently, so some pupils become distracted and learn less well.

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 Walmley Junior School attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.0% 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, 0.3% of pupils at Walmley 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 Walmley Junior School had 22.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.9% 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, 19.6% of pupils at Walmley Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.9% 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 Walmley Junior School received £6,522 and spent £6,307 for each of its 362 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £310,000 (£856 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 Walmley Junior School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Walmley Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Walmley Junior School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Walmley Junior School have?

Walmley Junior School has 362 pupils on roll.

What age range does Walmley Junior School cover?

Walmley Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

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

In 2025, 71% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Walmley Junior School?

Walmley Junior School is at Walmley Ash Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B76 1JB.