Grestone Academy

Grestone Academy, a primary school in Birmingham, has demonstrated significant improvement since its last inspection, moving from requiring improvement to achieving a good overall effectiveness rating. The school fosters an environment where pupils feel proud and safe, with commendable behaviour and strong relationships between staff and students. The teaching staff effectively inspire pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), to achieve high aspirations through an ambitious and well-structured curriculum that builds knowledge gradually. The school also emphasizes positive values, enhancing students' personal development and moral understanding.

Strengths

• Strong leadership and management resulting in significant improvements since the last inspection.
• Pupils consistently display good behaviour and positive attitudes both in class and outdoors.
• An ambitious curriculum that is well sequenced and helps pupils secure key knowledge and skills.
• Effective teaching of reading and phonics, resulting in successful early literacy development.
• Strong support for pupils with SEND, ensuring they have access to the same curriculum as their peers.
• Variety of enrichment opportunities that support broader pupil development.

Areas for Improvement

• Some subject leaders are new or in the early stages of implementing revised curricula, affecting their understanding of necessary developments.

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 Grestone Academy attended 93.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.3% 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, 0.3% of pupils at Grestone 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 Grestone Academy had 24.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 51.1% 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, 12.3% of pupils at Grestone Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.2% 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 Grestone Academy received £7,411 and spent £7,681 for each of its 369 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £221,000 (£599 per pupil).

Across all 2 schools of Hamstead Hall Academy Trust, income was £8,519 and spending £8,282 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

Grestone Academy is part of Hamstead Hall Academy Trust, which runs 2 schools. The nearest others:

• Hamstead Hall Academy Birmingham

What is Grestone Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Grestone Academy is Good, from an inspection in January 2024.

When was Grestone Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Grestone Academy was last inspected in January 2024.

How many pupils does Grestone Academy have?

Grestone Academy has 366 pupils on roll.

What age range does Grestone Academy cover?

Grestone Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 61% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Grestone Academy?

Grestone Academy is at Grestone Avenue, Handsworth Wood, Birmingham, West Midlands, B20 1ND.