Tudor Grange Primary Academy, St James

Tudor Grange Primary Academy, St James is a highly effective and inclusive school that performs at a strong standard across several key areas. Attendance and behaviour are significant strengths: persistent absence is extremely rare, attendance is consistently above national averages, and pupils behave exceptionally well, creating a calm and purposeful environment. The early years provision and inclusion are also strong, with children making an excellent start and pupils with SEND receiving highly effective, well-targeted support. Personal development is a further strength, with a rich curriculum and wide enrichment opportunities that develop confident, responsible pupils. However, academic achievement and curriculum/teaching are rated at the expected standard, with some areas for refinement. Attainment in national tests is generally in line with national averages, but writing and mathematics outcomes in 2024/25 were below average. Assessment information is not consistently used to adapt activities to pupils' needs, particularly in writing, and new approaches in foundation subjects are not yet yielding consistently high-quality outcomes. Disadvantaged pupils achieve well overall but gaps in mathematics remain notable. Leaders have an accurate understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development, and governance is effective. The school has recently experienced leadership changes, with a new principal and deputy headteacher in post. The next steps focus on embedding assessment systems and raising expectations in foundation subjects to ensure consistent progress across the curriculum.

Strengths

• Attendance is a significant strength, with persistent absence extremely rare and rates consistently above national averages.
• Pupils maintain consistently high standards of behaviour, contributing to a calm and purposeful learning environment.
• Children in the early years make an excellent start, with high-quality provision that prepares them very well for Year 1.
• Inclusion is a strong feature; pupils with SEND and other barriers learn alongside their peers and achieve well.
• Personal development is strong, with a comprehensive curriculum and extensive enrichment opportunities.
• Leadership and governance are effective, with a deep understanding of the school's strengths and areas for improvement.
• Pupils feel safe, respected and valued, and relationships between pupils and staff are positive.
• Pupils with SEND make suitable progress because teachers understand their needs and gaps in learning.

Areas for Improvement

• Writing opportunities sometimes do not match pupils' current ability closely enough, so gaps in learning do not close as quickly.
• Assessment information does not consistently lead to adjustments in pupils' next steps, particularly in writing.
• New approaches in foundation subjects such as art, history and geography are not yet leading to consistently high-quality outcomes.
• In other subjects beyond the core areas, the gains pupils make are not as evident as they are in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Disadvantaged pupils' performance in mathematics shows a significant gap compared to non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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 Tudor Grange Primary Academy, St James attended 96.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.1% 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, 1.7% of pupils at Tudor Grange Primary Academy, St James 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 Tudor Grange Primary Academy, St James had 21.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 24.6% 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, 13.7% of pupils at Tudor Grange Primary Academy, St James were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.5% 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 Tudor Grange Primary Academy, St James received £6,595 and spent £7,018 for each of its 241 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £56,000 (£234 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of Tudor Grange Academies Trust, income was £7,800 and spending £7,805 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.

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• Secondary Schools

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

Tudor Grange Primary Academy, St James is part of Tudor Grange Academies Trust, which runs 13 schools. The nearest others:

• Tudor Grange Primary Academy Langley Solihull
• Tudor Grange Academy, Solihull Solihull
• Tudor Grange Primary Academy Yew Tree Solihull
• Tudor Grange Primary Academy Hockley Heath Solihull
• Tudor Grange Academy Kingshurst Birmingham
• Tudor Grange Academy Redditch Redditch
• Tudor Grange Primary Academy, Haselor Alcester
• Tudor Grange Primary Academy Meon Vale Stratford-Upon-Avon
• Tudor Grange Academy Worcester Worcester
• Tudor Grange Primary Academy Perdiswell Worcester

What is Tudor Grange Primary Academy, St James's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Tudor Grange Primary Academy, St James is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Tudor Grange Primary Academy, St James last inspected by Ofsted?

Tudor Grange Primary Academy, St James was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Tudor Grange Primary Academy, St James have?

Tudor Grange Primary Academy, St James has 241 pupils on roll.

What age range does Tudor Grange Primary Academy, St James cover?

Tudor Grange Primary Academy, St James for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Tudor Grange Primary Academy, St James's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 50% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Tudor Grange Primary Academy, St James?

Tudor Grange Primary Academy, St James is at Halifax Road, Shirley, Solihull, B90 2BT.