Sharmans Cross Junior School

Sharmans Cross Junior School is a happy, inclusive school where pupils feel safe and well supported. Following significant leadership and staffing turbulence, new leaders have quickly focused on improving safeguarding and behaviour, and safeguarding standards are met. Attendance is strong, persistent absence is well below national averages, pupils behave well, and personal development and pastoral care are strengths. Governors are now stronger and understand their roles, and parents and staff are generally positive.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture of safeguarding.
• Attendance is consistently good; persistent absence is well below national averages.
• Pupils behave well, understand routines, and have positive attitudes to learning.
• Playtimes and lunchtimes are safe and inclusive, and bullying is rare.
• New leaders are ambitious and have quickly improved safeguarding and behaviour.
• Governors are strengthened, understand their roles, and provide appropriate support and challenge.
• Parents, carers and staff are positive about the school and confident in leaders.
• Staff feel valued and benefit from professional development aligned to school priorities.
• Personal development curriculum prepares pupils well for life beyond school.
• Relationships, sex and health education is carefully sequenced and age-appropriate.
• Pupils develop tolerance, equality and a secure sense of right and wrong.
• Pupils take on leadership roles such as safeguarding ambassadors and school councillors.
• A range of clubs, trips and residential visits develop interests and confidence.
• Pastoral support is effective and valued highly by pupils and parents.
• Published outcomes are positive overall, with reading and mathematics above national averages.
• Phonics support helps pupils catch up in early reading.
• External partnerships support specialist provision and smooth transitions.
• Additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is used appropriately and has positive impact.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement requires attention because some pupils have gaps in foundational knowledge, including letter formation, spelling and handwriting.
• Gaps in foundational skills impede pupils' progress across the wider curriculum.
• Curriculum and teaching require attention because teachers do not routinely adapt work to meet all pupils' needs.
• Most pupils complete the same activities, so the curriculum does not consistently meet the needs of pupils with SEND or those ready for challenge.
• The handwriting approach is in its infancy and has not yet improved writing fluency and accuracy.
• Assessment systems are not robust across all subjects, so staff do not consistently know how well pupils are learning.
• Feedback is variable and next steps are not routinely acted upon, leaving pupils unclear how to improve.
• Inclusion requires attention because the school's approach to identifying pupils' needs, including SEND, is not consistent.
• Staff are not consistently equipped to provide precise adaptations, so some pupils cannot access intended learning.
• The graduated approach for SEND needs strengthening so needs are identified more reliably and provision put in place sooner.
• Middle leaders need support and training to build expertise and drive consistency across the school.
• Pupils need more first-hand experiences of different cultures, faiths and lifestyles to deepen understanding of diversity.

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 Sharmans Cross Junior School attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.4% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Sharmans Cross 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 Sharmans Cross Junior School had 21.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 27.1% 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, 18.3% of pupils at Sharmans Cross Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.9% 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 Sharmans Cross Junior School received £6,321 and spent £6,909 for each of its 409 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £65,000 (£159 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 Sharmans Cross Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sharmans Cross Junior School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Sharmans Cross Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Sharmans Cross Junior School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Sharmans Cross Junior School have?

Sharmans Cross Junior School has 409 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sharmans Cross Junior School cover?

Sharmans Cross Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

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

In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Sharmans Cross Junior School?

Sharmans Cross Junior School is at Sharmans Cross Road, Solihull, West Midlands, B91 1PH.