Belvidere Primary School

Belvidere Primary School is a caring, ambitious community primary where pupils are well cared for and achieve well. Inspectors found the school has improved since its previous inspection, with all inspected areas judged good, and noted that no overall effectiveness grade is given under the current graded inspection arrangements. The relatively new headteacher, who joined in September 2024, leads a school where staff feel valued and governors are effective. Pupils benefit from a strong focus on reading, a meaningful curriculum and effective support for pupils with SEND. They behave well, enjoy a wide range of personal development opportunities and attendance has improved. Safeguarding is effective. The main areas for improvement are in the early years, where activities do not always match children's needs or the planned curriculum, and in ensuring teachers consistently extend pupils who are ready for more complex work. Overall, this is a good school with a clear understanding of what to do next. The report highlights strong community relationships, positive attitudes to learning and a broad offer for pupils, while identifying two specific areas where practice needs to become more consistent.

Strengths

• Staff know and care for pupils very well, creating a strong community.
• Pupils are ambitious and achieve well across the curriculum.
• Reading is a high priority, with a high-quality phonics programme from the early years.
• Most pupils read well by the end of key stage 1 and leave school reading fluently and accurately.
• The curriculum is meaningful and staff have the training and information to deliver it well.
• High-quality interactions and well-established routines give children a strong start in Nursery.
• Teachers generally check pupils' learning effectively and address gaps in knowledge.
• Pupils with SEND are identified effectively and supported well, so they achieve well.
• Personal development is prioritised through a wide range of trips, clubs and leadership opportunities.
• Pupils understand and demonstrate being ready, respectful and safe, and show kindness.
• Attendance and punctuality have been successfully improved.
• Governance is effective, staff feel valued, and parents appreciate the school.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In the early years, some staff do not consistently provide activities that match children's needs or the intended curriculum.
• At times, teachers do not identify when pupils are ready for more complex content, so some work is too easy and pupils do not reach their full potential.

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 Belvidere Primary School attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.9% 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, 0.8% of pupils at Belvidere 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 Belvidere Primary School had 25.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 2.0% 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, 11.4% of pupils at Belvidere Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.3% 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 Belvidere Primary School received £6,509 and spent £6,455 for each of its 263 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £59,000 (£226 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 Shrewsbury · Shropshire local authority: places and applications

What is Belvidere Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Belvidere Primary School is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Belvidere Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Belvidere Primary School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Belvidere Primary School have?

Belvidere Primary School has 263 pupils on roll.

What age range does Belvidere Primary School cover?

Belvidere Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 44% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Belvidere Primary School?

Belvidere Primary School is at Tenbury Drive, Telford Estate, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY2 5YB.