Palmers Cross Primary School

Palmers Cross Primary School continues to perform well as a good school, demonstrating a positive ethos with caring staff and a supportive community. The pupils thrive in this environment, achieving well due to high expectations and a well-structured curriculum, particularly in core subjects like English and mathematics. Special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well catered for, and pupils feel safe and valued, contributing to a strong sense of belonging within the school. This is the first ungraded inspection since the school was last judged to be good in February 2019, indicating an ongoing commitment to maintaining high standards.

Strengths

• High expectations and ambition for all pupils
• Strong support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities
• Effective focus on developing communication and reading skills
• Positive pupil behaviour and respectful interactions
• Engaging curriculum enriched by extracurricular activities

Areas for Improvement

• Foundation subjects lack precise and well-sequenced curriculum
• Inconsistent support for early reading among some pupils

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 Palmers Cross Primary School attended 94.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.9% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Palmers Cross 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 Palmers Cross Primary School had 20.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.2% 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, 3.1% of pupils at Palmers Cross Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 10.3% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 3 pupils.

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 Palmers Cross Primary School received £7,997 and spent £8,169 for each of its 234 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £142,000 (£608 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of Elston Hall Learning Trust, income was £7,199 and spending £7,100 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 Wolverhampton · Wolverhampton local authority: places and applications

Palmers Cross Primary School is part of Elston Hall Learning Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Elston Hall Primary School Wolverhampton
• Goldthorn Park Primary School Wolverhampton
• Edward the Elder Primary School Wolverhampton
• Tipton Green Junior School Tipton
• Pheasey Park Farm Primary School and Early Years Centre Birmingham

What is Palmers Cross Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Palmers Cross Primary School is Good, from an inspection in September 2024.

When was Palmers Cross Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Palmers Cross Primary School was last inspected in September 2024.

How many pupils does Palmers Cross Primary School have?

Palmers Cross Primary School has 223 pupils on roll.

What age range does Palmers Cross Primary School cover?

Palmers Cross Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 55% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Palmers Cross Primary School?

Palmers Cross Primary School is at Windermere Road, Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV6 9DF.