Burman Infant School

Burman Infant School is a warm, caring and welcoming school where pupils feel happy, valued and known well. Behaviour and personal development are strong: pupils follow clear routines, learn about managing emotions, take part in clubs and visits, and benefit from a broad personal development offer. Leadership is also effective, with governors providing good support and challenge and staff feeling well supported in their workload and professional development. The main areas for improvement are the quality of education and early years provision. Although the curriculum is structured and creative, some activities do not focus closely enough on the knowledge and skills pupils are meant to learn, so pupils can struggle to connect new learning with prior knowledge and sometimes form misconceptions. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are not consistently well supported because activities are not always adapted to meet their individual needs. Early reading is a notable strength, with expert teaching, well-matched phonics books and effective catch-up support. Safeguarding is effective. The school has addressed areas from its previous inspection and shows promising signs of progress, but further work is needed so that all pupils achieve as well as they should and are fully prepared for their next stage of learning.

Strengths

• Warm, welcoming and caring environment where pupils feel happy and valued
• Clear behaviour expectations and routines help pupils settle quickly
• Strong personal development offer, including school council, clubs and visits
• Daily calm time supports pupils' emotional awareness and mental health
• Early reading and phonics teaching is a strength, with expert staff and rising outcomes
• Phonics books are well matched to pupils' learned sounds and gaps are swiftly addressed
• The school promotes a love of reading with sharing books and diverse book choices
• Effective attendance systems and support for families when attendance is a concern
• Structured, creative and interconnected curriculum across subjects
• Leadership is effective and has addressed areas from the previous inspection
• Governors provide effective support and challenge and bring wider expertise
• Staff feel well supported with workload, well-being and professional development
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• The quality of education requires improvement
• Early years provision requires improvement
• Some work given to pupils does not focus sufficiently on the intended knowledge and skills
• Pupils sometimes struggle to connect new learning with previous knowledge and form misconceptions
• Activities are not consistently adapted well enough for pupils with SEND
• Some pupils with SEND struggle to build secure knowledge over time
• Pupils have gaps in understanding and are not fully prepared for their next stage of learning
• Pupils do not achieve as well as they need to

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 Burman Infant School attended 94.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.5% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Burman Infant 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 Burman Infant School had 22.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 44.2% 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, 13.6% of pupils at Burman Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.1% 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 Burman Infant School received £8,121 and spent £7,969 for each of its 163 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £7,000 (-£45 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 Solihull · Solihull local authority: places and applications

What is Burman Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Burman Infant School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was Burman Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Burman Infant School was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does Burman Infant School have?

Burman Infant School has 169 pupils on roll.

What age range does Burman Infant School cover?

Burman Infant School for pupils aged 4 to 7.

Where is Burman Infant School?

Burman Infant School is at Velsheda Road, Shirley, Solihull, West Midlands, B90 2JW.