Blue Coat Church of England Aided Infant School

Blue Coat Church of England Aided Infant School is performing very well across all evaluated areas, with pupils achieving highly from their starting points and being well prepared for the next stage of education. Inspectors found a broad, ambitious curriculum, strong phonics and early reading, effective teaching, and good progress for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils behave extremely well in a calm, inclusive environment. The school's inclusive ethos is a notable strength. Leaders identify needs early, provide targeted support, and run a specialist resource provision for pupils with complex speech and language needs and/or autism. Early years provision gives children a highly positive start, attendance has improved rapidly, and personal development and wellbeing are central. Leadership and governance are effective, with strong staff development, parental partnerships, and federation working. The main improvement priority is to embed the revised handwriting approach so pupils consistently develop fluent, correctly formed handwriting from the earliest stages. The school serves a diverse community with above-average free school meals and education, health and care plan rates and well-above-average location deprivation, and its work is shaped well around that context.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve highly from their starting points and build secure knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Phonics outcomes are consistently in line with or above national averages.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported and achieve particularly well.
• Attendance has improved rapidly and is now above national averages, including for disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils behave extremely well and demonstrate highly positive attitudes to learning.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious and carefully sequenced across subjects.
• Teachers use secure subject knowledge, clear modelling and effective assessment to adapt learning.
• Early years provision gives children a highly positive start and prepares them well for Year 1.
• Inclusion is central, with early intervention and effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• The specialist resource provision offers personalised programmes and successful integration into school life.
• Leadership is highly effective, improvement-focused and invests in staff development and wellbeing.
• Governance provides appropriate support and challenge and holds leaders to account.
• Personal development and wellbeing are strong, with rich enrichment, pastoral care and leadership opportunities.
• Pupils are confident, respectful and well prepared for the next stage of education.
• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe.

Areas for Improvement

• Handwriting consistency remains a priority; leaders should continue to embed the revised approach so pupils develop fluent, correctly formed writing from the earliest stages.

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 Blue Coat Church of England Aided Infant School attended 93.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.7% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Blue Coat Church of England Aided 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 Blue Coat Church of England Aided Infant School had 25.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 12.1% of pupils at Blue Coat Church of England Aided Infant 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 10 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 2020–21 Blue Coat Church of England Aided Infant School received £6,049 and spent £5,732 for each of its 278 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £136,000 (£489 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

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What is Blue Coat Church of England Aided Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Blue Coat Church of England Aided Infant School is Strong standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Blue Coat Church of England Aided Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Blue Coat Church of England Aided Infant School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Blue Coat Church of England Aided Infant School have?

Blue Coat Church of England Aided Infant School has 314 pupils on roll.

What age range does Blue Coat Church of England Aided Infant School cover?

Blue Coat Church of England Aided Infant School for pupils aged 3 to 7.

Where is Blue Coat Church of England Aided Infant School?

Blue Coat Church of England Aided Infant School is at Hanch Place, Walsall, West Midlands, WS1 3AF.