Lift Lea Forest

Lea Forest Primary Academy is an exceptional school that demonstrates outstanding performance across all areas of education, behavior, personal development, and leadership. The ambitious curriculum effectively prepares pupils for their future, ensuring that they achieve at a high level while developing a strong understanding of fundamental British values. Pupils are happy, safe, and engaged in their education, contributing to a positive school environment where bullying is rare, and discrimination is actively addressed. The school has greatly improved since its last inspection, reflecting a commitment to excellence from leaders and staff alike.

Strengths

• Exceptional support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum across all subjects.
• Strong emphasis on reading and literacy development.
• Warm and welcoming early years environment fostering exploration.
• Outstanding personal development curriculum supporting citizenship and well-being.
• Very effective safeguarding practices ensuring pupil safety.

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 Lift Lea Forest attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.7% 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, 0.2% of pupils at Lift Lea Forest 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 Lift Lea Forest had 21.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.7% 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, 11.8% of pupils at Lift Lea Forest were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.6% 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 Lift Lea Forest received £8,119 and spent £8,166 for each of its 538 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £432,000 (£803 per pupil).

Across all 59 schools of Lift Schools, income was £8,746 and spending £8,644 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 Birmingham · Birmingham local authority: places and applications

Lift Lea Forest is part of Lift Schools, which runs 62 schools. The nearest others:

• Lift Greenwood Birmingham
• Lift Montgomery Birmingham
• Lift Percy Shurmer Birmingham
• Lift Four Dwellings Primary Birmingham
• Lift Four Dwellings Secondary Birmingham
• Lift Tamworth Tamworth
• Lift Rawlett Tamworth
• Lift Anglesey Burton-On-Trent
• Lift Beacon Loughborough
• Lift Crescent View Cheltenham

What is Lift Lea Forest's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lift Lea Forest is Outstanding, from an inspection in January 2023.

When was Lift Lea Forest last inspected by Ofsted?

Lift Lea Forest was last inspected in January 2023.

How many pupils does Lift Lea Forest have?

Lift Lea Forest has 536 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lift Lea Forest cover?

Lift Lea Forest for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Lift Lea Forest's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 84% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Lift Lea Forest?

Lift Lea Forest is at Hurstcroft Road, Kitts Green, Birmingham, B33 9RD.