Croft Academy

Croft Academy is a primary academy in Walsall and part of The Elliot Foundation Academies Trust. Inspected in October 2024, it has a new leadership team since its previous inspection and is now judged good in all key areas and in early years provision, having previously required improvement. Pupils are proud of their school, behave respectfully and learn in calm classrooms, with kind relationships and strong support for pupils with SEND. The school has improved its curriculum, staff training and reading provision, and pupils are increasingly able to read, write and solve mathematical problems independently. Early years children are well supported, including those developing communication, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. Leaders have successfully raised expectations and created a positive culture. Two areas need further work. In a few subjects, recent curriculum changes are not yet improving what pupils know and can do. Personal development is not yet fully effective because some pupils do not apply their learning about internet safety or healthy lifestyles to their wider lives. Overall, the school has made substantial improvements and is performing well, with clear priorities for the next stage.

Strengths

• Pupils feel proud of their school and show respectful, responsible behaviour.
• Kind and caring relationships are commonplace, and pupils trust adults to help with worries.
• Pupils achieve well because the school has high expectations for all.
• Pupils with SEND are well supported and access the same opportunities as their peers.
• Classrooms are calm and pupils show positive attitudes to learning.
• The new leadership team has improved all aspects of provision with support from the trust.
• Staff receive high-quality training and are determined to do their best for pupils.
• Pupils develop a love of reading and receive support to keep up when they fall behind.
• Early years children are well supported to understand routines and develop communication and language.
• The school checks pupils’ understanding effectively and intervenes when pupils struggle.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Pupils enjoy a wide range of clubs and opportunities to be young leaders.

Areas for Improvement

• In a few subjects, recent curriculum changes are not yet improving what pupils know and can do.
• Personal development provision is not fully effective; some pupils do not apply learning about internet safety or healthy lifestyles to their wider lives.

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 Croft Academy attended 94.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.1% 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, 0.4% of pupils at Croft 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 Croft Academy had 21.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.2% 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, 13.4% of pupils at Croft Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.7% 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 2024–25 Croft Academy received £8,124 and spent £8,274 for each of its 243 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £125,000 (£515 per pupil).

Across all 36 schools of The Elliot Foundation Academies Trust, income was £7,171 and spending £7,108 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

Croft Academy is part of The Elliot Foundation Academies Trust, which runs 37 schools. The nearest others:

• Woods Bank Academy Wednesbury
• Kings Rise Academy Birmingham
• George Betts Primary Academy Smethwick
• Rounds Green Primary School Oldbury
• Rowley Hall Primary School Rowley Regis
• Shireland Hall Primary Academy Smethwick
• Netherbrook Primary School Dudley
• Harborne Primary School Birmingham
• Chandos Primary School Birmingham
• Tiverton Academy Birmingham

What is Croft Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Croft Academy is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Croft Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Croft Academy was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Croft Academy have?

Croft Academy has 246 pupils on roll.

What age range does Croft Academy cover?

Croft Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Croft Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Croft Academy?

Croft Academy is at Croft Street, Walsall, West Midlands, WS2 8JE.