Chivenor Primary School

Chivenor Primary School is a happy, caring and high-performing school. Pupils feel safe and proud to attend, behaviour is calm and purposeful, and their attitudes to learning are exceptional. Personal development is a standout feature: pupils get a wide range of enrichment, leadership opportunities and experiences that help them understand and respect difference. The curriculum is ambitious and pupils achieve well in most subjects. Reading and phonics are particular strengths, and pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported effectively. Early years provision is secure, and staff, leaders and governors work well together with a clear shared vision. Safeguarding is effective. The main area for improvement is assessment in a few subjects, where teachers do not yet check precisely enough what pupils remember, so some gaps in knowledge can develop. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is part of The Griffin Schools Trust; under current inspection arrangements, no overall effectiveness grade was given.

Strengths

• Pupils feel happy, secure and proud to attend the school.
• Staff care deeply for pupils and model kindness and respect.
• Behaviour is calm and purposeful, and pupils meet high expectations.
• Pupils have exceptional attitudes to learning and respond well to feedback.
• Personal development is a strength, with rich opportunities to develop talents and understand diversity.
• The curriculum is ambitious and sets out the knowledge pupils should know in all subjects.
• In most subjects, teachers check learning well and pupils achieve and produce high-quality work.
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported effectively to overcome barriers.
• Phonics is taught consistently well, and pupils read with growing fluency and confidence.
• Enrichment, after-school clubs and trust-wide festivals broaden pupils' experiences.
• Pupils value leadership roles and contribute to their school and trust community.
• Staff feel supported, work well as a team and say leaders consider wellbeing and workload.
• Governors know the school well and provide effective support and challenge.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In a few subjects, assessment is still being developed, so teachers do not have an accurate picture of pupils' achievement over time.
• In some subjects, teachers do not check what pupils remember precisely enough, allowing gaps in knowledge to develop.

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 Chivenor Primary School attended 92.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 25.3% 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, 1.8% of pupils at Chivenor Primary School 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 Chivenor Primary School had 17.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.0% 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, 15.7% of pupils at Chivenor Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.4% 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 Chivenor Primary School received £8,308 and spent £8,447 for each of its 335 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £768,000 (£2,292 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of The Griffin Schools Trust, income was £7,909 and spending £8,064 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

Chivenor Primary School is part of The Griffin Schools Trust, which runs 13 schools. The nearest others:

• Park Lane Primary School Nuneaton
• Bramford Primary School Bilston
• Exhall Junior School Warwickshire
• Race Leys Junior School Bedworth
• Nicholas Chamberlaine School Bedworth
• Perry Wood Primary and Nursery School Worcester
• Lammas School London
• Willow Brook Primary School Academy London
• Riverley Primary School London
• Saxon Way Primary School Gillingham

What is Chivenor Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Chivenor Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Chivenor Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Chivenor Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Chivenor Primary School have?

Chivenor Primary School has 344 pupils on roll.

What age range does Chivenor Primary School cover?

Chivenor Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Chivenor Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 74% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Chivenor Primary School?

Chivenor Primary School is at Farnborough Road, Castle Vale, Birmingham, West Midlands, B35 7JA.