Silkmore Primary Academy

Silkmore Primary Academy is a caring and inclusive school that is performing securely overall. Safeguarding standards are met, pupils feel safe and valued, behaviour is generally good, and personal development and wellbeing are particular strengths. The school offers a broad curriculum, strong pastoral support, wide enrichment and effective early years provision. Disadvantaged pupils achieve well, often above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics, and leaders use additional funding effectively. Leaders, supported by the REAch2 Academy Trust, have managed staffing changes thoughtfully and have an accurate view of priorities. Most areas of provision meet expected standards, including achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, and leadership and governance. However, practice is not yet consistently strong across the wider curriculum. Some tasks are not adapted well enough for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, higher-attaining pupils are sometimes insufficiently challenged, and spelling, handwriting and presentation remain uneven. Attendance is a continuing concern: persistent absence is above national average, and a significant minority of pupils take term-time holidays. Early years independent activities also do not always build on what children already know, especially for higher attainers. The school has appropriate next steps to improve consistency in adaptation, challenge, early years independence and attendance.

Strengths

• Personal development and wellbeing are a clear strength, rooted in the school’s Aim High values.
• Pastoral support, including the Sea Room, helps pupils feel safe and ready to learn.
• Pupils develop a secure understanding of fundamental British values and respect for difference.
• A wide range of enrichment opportunities is carefully tracked so disadvantaged pupils take part.
• Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, achieve securely and are well prepared for the next stage.
• Pupils achieve consistently well in the Year 1 phonics check.
• The curriculum is broad, coherent and well sequenced, with practical experiences that bring learning to life.
• Early years provision is engaging, well resourced and responsive to children’s starting points.
• The school is inclusive and caring, with early identification of additional needs.
• Additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is used effectively to support progress and enrichment.
• Governance is effective, and leaders have an accurate understanding of strengths and areas for development.
• Pupils behave well, bullying is rare, and staff respond quickly to concerns.
• Staff value approachable leadership, consideration of workload and professional learning opportunities.
• Leaders engage well with parents, carers and the wider community.

Areas for Improvement

• Learning opportunities in the wider curriculum are not consistently adapted for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Higher-attaining pupils are not always sufficiently challenged, particularly in the wider curriculum.
• Some pupils make errors in spelling and handwriting that affect the quality of their written work.
• Progress beyond English and mathematics is occasionally uneven because tasks are not well matched to pupils’ needs.
• Early years independent activities do not always build on children’s prior learning, especially for higher-attaining children.
• A significant minority of pupils take term-time holidays, which affects overall attendance.
• Persistent absence remains above the national average.
• Some pupils occasionally lose focus and need reminders to concentrate.
• Tasks for pupils needing extra help are sometimes not adapted well enough, so they do not complete their work.

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 Silkmore Primary Academy attended 94.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 21.1% 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, 1.0% of pupils at Silkmore Primary Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Silkmore Primary Academy had 24.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 33.3% 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, 13.1% of pupils at Silkmore Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.2% 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 Silkmore Primary Academy received £9,555 and spent £9,020 for each of its 197 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £45,000 (£228 per pupil).

Across all 65 schools of Reach2 Academy Trust, income was £7,346 and spending £7,105 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 Stafford · Staffordshire local authority: places and applications

Silkmore Primary Academy is part of Reach2 Academy Trust, which runs 65 schools. The nearest others:

• Veritas Primary Academy Stafford
• Heath Hayes Primary Academy Cannock
• Norton Canes Primary Academy Cannock
• Springhill Primary Academy Burntwood
• Bushbury Lane Academy Wolverhampton
• Five Spires Academy Lichfield
• Apley Wood Primary Academy Telford
• Lawley Village Academy Telford
• Aqueduct Primary Academy Telford
• Henhurst Ridge Primary Academy Burton-On-Trent

What is Silkmore Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Silkmore Primary Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Silkmore Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Silkmore Primary Academy was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Silkmore Primary Academy have?

Silkmore Primary Academy has 252 pupils on roll.

What age range does Silkmore Primary Academy cover?

Silkmore Primary Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Silkmore Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 77% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Silkmore Primary Academy?

Silkmore Primary Academy is at Exeter Street, Stafford, Staffordshire, ST17 4EG.