St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School

St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School is a primary academy in the Emmaus Catholic Multi-Academy Company. Following a previous Requires improvement judgement, this graded inspection found all key judgements Good: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Safeguarding is effective. Inspectors found that leaders have tackled the issues from the last inspection strategically and with enthusiasm, including weaknesses in writing, and that staff, parents and the trust are positive about the school’s direction. Pupils enjoy learning and attendance is high. Reading is a very high priority, phonics is structured and consistently delivered, and pupils read frequently with adults. The curriculum is broad, vocabulary is emphasised, and regular recap helps pupils remember important knowledge. Pupils with SEND are identified promptly and make effective progress, behaviour is calm and purposeful, and personal development is well designed. The early years provision gives children a strong start. The main area to improve is that pupils who grasp key knowledge quickly are not consistently given opportunities to deepen their understanding, so they do not always make the most of the challenging curriculum on offer.

Strengths

• Leaders have tackled previous weaknesses strategically and built a shared commitment to improvement.
• Reading and phonics are a high priority, and pupils learn to read quickly and fluently.
• Staff track reading skills in detail and support pupils who find reading difficult to keep up.
• The curriculum is broad and well sequenced, with a strong emphasis on vocabulary and recall.
• Teachers explain clearly, use questioning effectively and address misconceptions quickly.
• Pupils with SEND are identified promptly and make effective progress across the full curriculum.
• Behaviour is calm and purposeful, and pupils have enthusiastic attitudes to learning.
• Personal development is well designed, helping pupils learn about safety, healthy relationships and diversity.
• Early years provision gives children a strong start and establishes routines and social skills.
• Parents are positive about the school, and the trust provides effective support.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils who grasp key knowledge quickly are sometimes not given opportunities to deepen their understanding.

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 St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School attended 96.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.9% 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, 3.5% of pupils at St Francis Xavier Catholic 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 St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School had 16.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 16.5% of pupils at St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.7% 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 St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School received £7,429 and spent £7,673 for each of its 196 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £132,000 (£674 per pupil).

Across all 14 schools of Emmaus Catholic Multi Academy Company, income was £7,316 and spending £7,265 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 Oldbury · Sandwell local authority: places and applications

St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School is part of Emmaus Catholic Multi Academy Company, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• Our Lady and St Hubert's Catholic Primary School Oldbury
• St Philip's Catholic Primary School Smethwick
• St Gregory's Catholic Primary School Smethwick
• Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Primary School Birmingham
• St Mary's RC Primary School Brierley Hill
• St Joseph's RC Primary School Stourbridge
• Hagley Catholic High School Hagley
• St Ambrose Catholic Primary Kidderminster
• St Wulstan's Catholic Primary School Stourport-On-Severn
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Droitwich

What is St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School have?

St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School has 188 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School cover?

St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 71% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School?

St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School is at McKean Road, Oldbury, West Midlands, B69 4BA.