Ferndale Primary School

Ferndale Primary School is a large, inclusive primary in Great Barr, Birmingham, serving a community with above-average deprivation. At its June 2026 full inspection, safeguarding standards were met. The school is performing well overall: attendance and behaviour and personal development and wellbeing are strong, while achievement, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, and leadership and governance are at the expected standard. The report highlights a calm, purposeful environment, exemplary behaviour, and an aspirational attendance culture that has improved rates and reduced persistent absence, particularly for pupils with SEND. Notable strengths include an ambitious personal development programme that teaches diversity, respect, and British values; strong pastoral support and a family hub; and an inclusive ethos that supports disadvantaged pupils and pupils with EAL. Leaders are ambitious and have effective oversight, staff feel supported, and governors provide appropriate support and challenge. Pupils are proud, feel safe, and are well prepared for their next steps. Areas for improvement include ensuring SEND targets, especially for pupils with EHC plans, are reviewed promptly so support is precisely matched, and making early years learning consistently build on what children already know to prepare them well for Year 1. Teaching adaptations for pupils with SEND are not always precise, and public examination outcomes have been variable, with combined reading, writing and mathematics below national average over the latest three years, though recent outcomes are closer to average. The report notes a decline in 2025 outcomes, and the disadvantaged gap remains, though it has narrowed.

Strengths

• Aspirational attendance culture with above-average attendance and reduced persistent absence, especially for pupils with SEND.
• High behaviour expectations create a calm, purposeful school with exemplary lunchtime and playtime conduct.
• Ambitious personal development programme teaches diversity, respect, and fundamental British values effectively.
• Strong pastoral support and a family hub help vulnerable pupils and families feel cared for.
• Inclusive ethos with effective support for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with EAL.
• Leaders prioritise staff workload and wellbeing, and staff feel well supported and valued.
• Governors provide effective support and challenge and uphold their statutory responsibilities.
• Pupils are proud, feel safe, and are well prepared for their next steps, with bullying rare and addressed promptly.
• Reading, writing, and mathematics teaching is generally effective, with well-matched phonics and reading books.
• Enrichment and leadership opportunities, such as Ferndale 50 and the junior leadership team, broaden pupils' experiences.
• Early years staff care for children and help most make progress, including those with SEND.
• Leaders use additional funding carefully to support disadvantaged pupils to achieve and attend well.

Areas for Improvement

• Targets for pupils with SEND, especially those with EHC plans, are not consistently reviewed in a timely way.
• Support for pupils with the most complex SEND needs is not always precise enough.
• Teaching adaptations for pupils with SEND are not always precise enough to ensure consistent access to learning.
• Early years activities sometimes do not build on what children already know, leaving some less prepared for Year 1.
• Public examination outcomes have been variable, with combined reading, writing and mathematics below national average over the latest three years.
• The disadvantaged pupils' performance gap remains, although it has narrowed recently.
• Some 2025 outcomes declined, including in phonics, despite generally effective teaching.

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 Ferndale Primary School attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.7% 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 Ferndale 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 Ferndale Primary School had 25.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.0% 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, 17.1% of pupils at Ferndale Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.9% 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 Ferndale Primary School received £7,222 and spent £7,042 for each of its 540 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £549,000 (£1,018 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 Ferndale Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Ferndale Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Ferndale Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Ferndale Primary School have?

Ferndale Primary School has 551 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ferndale Primary School cover?

Ferndale Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

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

Where is Ferndale Primary School?

Ferndale Primary School is at Ferndale Avenue, Great Barr, Birmingham, West Midlands, B43 5QF.