Park Hall Junior Academy

Park Hall Junior Academy is an inclusive and welcoming school where pupils feel safe, valued and well cared for. Attendance is a high priority and leaders' work with families is highly effective, so pupils attend well. Behaviour is typically calm and respectful, bullying and discrimination are rare, and pupils know staff will deal with any incidents. Inclusion and personal development are also strong: disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND are generally well supported, the pastoral programme is a notable strength, and pupils benefit from a broad enrichment offer, PSHE and leadership opportunities. Pupils typically achieve well at the end of key stage 2, particularly in reading and mathematics. However, the inspection found that achievement, curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance require further attention. Some pupils have gaps in foundational knowledge, especially in reading, spelling, writing and handwriting, and these gaps are not closing quickly enough. Teaching and curriculum delivery are variable across year groups and subjects, staff do not consistently check pupils' understanding, and some younger pupils struggle to talk about their learning or produce high-quality written work. Support for pupils with SEND is not always adapted effectively, and local governance is less effective in challenging leaders and holding them to account. The school is part of the Loriners Trust and is larger than average, with lower-than-average free school meals and SEN support levels and no alternative provision. Leaders have acted swiftly to identify priorities, but their work is in the early stages of implementation. Safeguarding standards are met. Overall, the school has real strengths in inclusion, wellbeing, attendance and behaviour, but it must improve the consistency of teaching and curriculum delivery so that all pupils secure essential knowledge.

Strengths

• Inclusive and welcoming school culture where pupils feel safe and valued.
• Highly effective attendance work and strong relationships with families.
• Calm and respectful behaviour in lessons and around school.
• Bullying, derogatory language and discriminatory behaviour are rare and dealt with quickly.
• Strong inclusion practice, with effective support for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• Well-planned personal development and PSHE curriculum, including relationships, online safety and mental health.
• Highly effective pastoral programme supporting pupils' mental health and wellbeing.
• Broad enrichment offer, including clubs, trips, productions, music and sports.
• Pupils typically achieve well at the end of key stage 2, particularly in reading and mathematics.
• Leaders prioritise reading and provide appropriate phonics support.
• Staff benefit from professional learning, and leaders are considerate of staff wellbeing and workload.
• Positive relationships with parents, carers and external partners.
• Pupils develop confidence, independence and readiness for secondary school by Year 6.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils have gaps in foundational knowledge, particularly in reading, spelling, writing and handwriting.
• Gaps in essential knowledge are not closing quickly enough.
• Teaching and curriculum delivery are variable across year groups and subjects.
• Staff do not consistently check pupils' understanding effectively.
• Some pupils, particularly in younger years, do not develop the skills to write or spell fluently.
• Pupils' knowledge across wider curriculum subjects is inconsistent.
• Some younger pupils struggle to talk about their learning.
• Written work is not of a high quality for some pupils.
• Support for pupils with SEND is not always adapted effectively, so they do not learn as well as they should.
• Local governance is less effective in challenging leaders and holding them to account.
• Leaders' improvement actions are in the early stages of roll out.
• Expectations of pupils' behaviour and achievement are not consistently high enough to develop resilience and self-discipline.

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 Park Hall Junior Academy attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.3% 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 Park Hall Junior Academy 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 Park Hall Junior Academy had 27.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.1% 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, 12.2% of pupils at Park Hall Junior Academy 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 2024–25 Park Hall Junior Academy received £5,875 and spent £5,346 for each of its 410 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £851,000 (£2,075 per pupil).

Across all 2 schools of The Loriners Multi Academy Trust, income was £6,188 and spending £5,806 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Walsall · Walsall local authority: places and applications

Park Hall Junior Academy is part of The Loriners Multi Academy Trust, which runs 2 schools. The nearest others:

• Park Hall Infant Academy Walsall

What is Park Hall Junior Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Park Hall Junior Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Park Hall Junior Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Park Hall Junior Academy was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Park Hall Junior Academy have?

Park Hall Junior Academy has 409 pupils on roll.

What age range does Park Hall Junior Academy cover?

Park Hall Junior Academy for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Park Hall Junior Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

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

Where is Park Hall Junior Academy?

Park Hall Junior Academy is at Park Hall Road, Walsall, West Midlands, WS5 3HF.