Timbertree Academy

Timbertree Academy is an impressive primary academy within United Learning Trust. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and inspectors found provision to be exceptional across the board. Pupils are happy, safe and proud of their school; relationships are positive, expectations are high, and behaviour is exemplary, creating a calm and purposeful place to learn. The curriculum is highly ambitious and well designed, with clear knowledge and skills, accurate SEND identification, strong vocabulary and oral communication, and rigorous reading and phonics teaching. Early years provision is a strength, personal development is exemplary, and leaders have taken effective action to improve attendance, support staff wellbeing and benefit from rigorous trust and governance oversight. The main remaining concern is attendance: although most groups now attend regularly, a small number of pupils still miss school and therefore miss the exceptional education on offer. Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Strengths

• Highly ambitious and well-designed curriculum across subjects.
• Accurate SEND identification and tailored support that enables full curriculum access.
• Strong vocabulary and oral communication development.
• Rigorous reading and phonics teaching with daily support for pupils who need it.
• Early years provision that blends strong curriculum design with play-based learning.
• Exemplary behaviour and attitudes, creating a calm and purposeful learning environment.
• Exemplary personal development, including resilience, citizenship, careers and safety education.
• Effective action to improve attendance, with most groups now attending regularly.
• Strong safeguarding arrangements.
• Supportive leadership that cares for staff wellbeing and benefits from rigorous trust and governance oversight.

Areas for Improvement

• A small number of pupils still miss school and therefore miss the exceptional education on offer.

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 Timbertree Academy attended 94.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.5% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Timbertree 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 Timbertree Academy had 31.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.6% 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, 17.6% of pupils at Timbertree Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.5% 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 Timbertree Academy received £7,418 and spent £7,110 for each of its 210 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £188,000 (£894 per pupil).

Across all 93 schools of United Learning Trust, income was £8,687 and spending £8,616 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 Cradley Heath · Sandwell local authority: places and applications

Timbertree Academy is part of United Learning Trust, which runs 98 schools. The nearest others:

• Corngreaves Academy Cradley Heath
• Ham Dingle Primary Academy Stourbridge
• Hartshill Academy Nuneaton
• Nuneaton Academy Nuneaton
• George Eliot Academy Nuneaton
• Heath Lane Academy Leicester
• Silverdale Primary Academy Newcastle
• North Oxfordshire Academy Banbury
• Hanwell Fields Community School Banbury
• Hill View Primary School Banbury

What is Timbertree Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Timbertree Academy is Outstanding, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Timbertree Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Timbertree Academy was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Timbertree Academy have?

Timbertree Academy has 221 pupils on roll.

What age range does Timbertree Academy cover?

Timbertree Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 86% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Timbertree Academy?

Timbertree Academy is at Valley Road, Cradley Heath, West Midlands, B64 7LT.