Buildwas Academy

Buildwas Academy is undergoing a period of transition and improvement after recent leadership changes. While the overall effectiveness of the school is rated as requiring improvement, there are positive developments in behavior, personal development, and leadership. The new leadership team is addressing gaps in pupils' knowledge and has implemented strategies to catch up students who have fallen behind. However, significant challenges remain, particularly in the quality of education, as variability in outcomes in mathematics and English indicates that not all pupils are achieving as expected. The school is committed to embedding new curriculum changes, and their efforts are starting to show some positive effects, especially in the early years.

Strengths

• Positive relationships between pupils and staff.
• High expectations for pupil behavior and learning.
• Strong support for pupils facing personal difficulties.
• Effective early reading and phonics instruction.
• Ambitious curriculum in early years.
• Calm behavior and positive attitudes to learning.

Areas for Improvement

• Gaps in pupils' knowledge in mathematics and English.
• Inconsistent achievement across different areas of the school.
• Processes for identifying needs of pupils with SEND are not rigorous.
• Planned support for some pupils is too broad and not specific enough.

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 Buildwas Academy attended 93.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 23.3% 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, 6.7% of pupils at Buildwas 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 Buildwas Academy had 11.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 66.1% 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, 7.4% of pupils at Buildwas Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.6% 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 2023–24 Buildwas Academy received £10,505 and spent £9,980 for each of its 69 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £99,000 (-£1,439 per pupil).

Across all 2 schools of Mighty Oaks Academy Trust Ltd, income was £6,376 and spending £6,501 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 Telford · Shropshire local authority: places and applications

Buildwas Academy is part of Mighty Oaks Academy Trust Ltd, which runs 2 schools. The nearest others:

• Priorslee Academy Telford

What is Buildwas Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Buildwas Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in July 2024.

When was Buildwas Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Buildwas Academy was last inspected in July 2024.

How many pupils does Buildwas Academy have?

Buildwas Academy has 54 pupils on roll.

What age range does Buildwas Academy cover?

Buildwas Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 33% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Buildwas Academy?

Buildwas Academy is at Buildwas Road, Buildwas, Telford, Shropshire, TF8 7DA.