Five Ways Primary School

Five Ways Primary School has been identified as having areas that may not be performing as strongly as during its last inspection in 2019. While the school fosters a supportive community atmosphere with high expectations for behavior, some pupils, particularly vulnerable ones, have not received adequate support to meet these expectations. The curriculum is generally well designed, but there are concerns regarding pupils' achievement in mathematics and in retaining knowledge across various subjects. The school is actively working to address these issues, particularly in the support provided to pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This is the school's first inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Strengths

• Staff have strong relationships with pupils.
• Pupils are encouraged to develop a love of reading.
• Most staff have the expertise to teach phonics well.
• The curriculum is enriched through visits and extracurricular activities.
• Pupils understand and apply fundamental British values.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils have not achieved as highly as they should in mathematics.
• Some subjects do not consistently address gaps in pupils' knowledge.
• Inconsistent teaching of letter formation affects writing accuracy.
• Some pupils with SEND are not adequately supported in their learning.
• Vulnerable pupils do not consistently receive the right support for behavior.

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 Five Ways Primary School attended 95.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.8% 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, 1.3% of pupils at Five Ways Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 2 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 Five Ways Primary School had 21.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.6% 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, 5.2% of pupils at Five Ways Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.7% 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 Five Ways Primary School received £7,068 and spent £7,030 for each of its 597 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £111,000 (£186 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 Cannock · Staffordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Five Ways Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Five Ways Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Five Ways Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Five Ways Primary School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Five Ways Primary School have?

Five Ways Primary School has 597 pupils on roll.

What age range does Five Ways Primary School cover?

Five Ways Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 52% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Five Ways Primary School?

Five Ways Primary School is at Langholm Drive, Heath Hayes, Cannock, Staffordshire, WS12 2EZ.