Birchills Church of England Community Academy

Birchills Church of England Community Academy is performing well overall, being rated as good across all inspected areas including the quality of education, behavior and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. The school has established warm relationships between staff and students, fostering a positive learning environment. While the school has historically faced challenges with low outcomes, it is actively working on redesigning its curriculum, enabling students to build on their prior knowledge effectively, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The commitment to improving educational practices is evident, though there are still areas for development. Despite the strengths observed, there are concerns regarding the consistency of curriculum delivery and assessment procedures. Although many subjects show a well-established progression for learning, a few still require further development and consistent implementation amongst staff. Additionally, assessment practices are not uniformly applied, which hampers the school's ability to identify gaps in students' understanding effectively. Overall, while there are notable areas of excellence, continued focus on embedding curriculum and assessment will be crucial for improving student outcomes further.

Strengths

• Strong relationships between staff and pupils enhance the learning environment.
• The curriculum is being successfully redesigned to help pupils build knowledge.
• High expectations are set for all pupils, including those with SEND.
• Positive community links contribute to a respectful and tolerant school culture.
• Engaged pupils participate in various roles and clubs, reflecting their enthusiasm.

Areas for Improvement

• Some subjects are still under development and not fully embedded.
• Inconsistencies in the delivery of learning sequences by staff.
• Assessment procedures are not securely implemented across all subjects.

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 Birchills Church of England Community Academy attended 92.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 27.3% 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, 0.9% of pupils at Birchills Church of England Community 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 Birchills Church of England Community Academy had 21.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.8% 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, 17.2% of pupils at Birchills Church of England Community Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.3% 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 Birchills Church of England Community Academy received £7,137 and spent £7,219 for each of its 429 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £715,000 (£1,669 per pupil).

Across all 19 schools of St Chad'S Academies Trust, income was £6,975 and spending £7,330 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

Birchills Church of England Community Academy is part of St Chad'S Academies Trust, which runs 19 schools. The nearest others:

• All Saints National Academy Walsall
• St John's Church of England Primary Academy Wednesbury
• Trinity CofE Primary Academy Wolverhampton
• St Peter's Church of England Primary Academy Walsall
• Havergal CofE (C) Primary School Wolverhampton
• St Jude's Church of England Primary Academy Wolverhampton
• Brewood Middle CofE Academy Stafford
• St James Church of England Primary Academy Rugeley
• Churchfield CofE Primary Academy Rugeley
• St Mary's CofE First Academy Wheaton Aston

What is Birchills Church of England Community Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Birchills Church of England Community Academy is Good, from an inspection in May 2024.

When was Birchills Church of England Community Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Birchills Church of England Community Academy was last inspected in May 2024.

How many pupils does Birchills Church of England Community Academy have?

Birchills Church of England Community Academy has 442 pupils on roll.

What age range does Birchills Church of England Community Academy cover?

Birchills Church of England Community Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Birchills Church of England Community Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 37% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Birchills Church of England Community Academy?

Birchills Church of England Community Academy is at Farringdon Street, Walsall, West Midlands, WS2 8NF.