Firs Primary School

Firs Primary School is in a period of significant transition, with a new headteacher since January 2025 and all senior leaders new to their roles. Inspectors found that leaders have reset the school's culture: safeguarding standards are met, pupils feel safe and behaviour is typically calm and respectful, while attendance and suspensions have improved. Personal development is a relative strength, with a broad programme that helps pupils become considerate and confident, and pupils speak maturely about respect, inclusion and British values. However, most other areas need attention. Achievement remains below national expectations, including at the end of key stage 2, so too many pupils leave without the skills and knowledge they need for the next stage. Teaching is inconsistent, misconceptions are not reliably addressed, and gaps in early writing and reading are not tackled with enough urgency. Early years support for language and communication is not effective enough, and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities do not consistently receive timely, well-matched support. Leaders understand the school's priorities and are addressing them, and the trust provides credible support. Even so, improvements are at an early stage and not yet sustained. Persistent absence and punctuality remain concerns, and leadership oversight of pupils' needs, especially those with SEND, is not precise enough. Overall, the school is moving in the right direction under new leadership but requires further work to secure achievement, inclusion, early years provision and attendance.

Strengths

• Strong safeguarding culture with standards securely met
• Personal development programme helps pupils become considerate and confident
• Pupils feel safe, listened to and know how to seek help
• Behaviour is typically calm and respectful, with bullying not tolerated
• Suspensions have reduced impressively through consistently high expectations
• Attendance has improved and is closer to national rates
• Mathematics is a more positive picture, with the Year 4 multiplication tables check a clear strength
• Phonics screening results in Year 1 have improved
• Curriculum usually sets out what pupils should learn and when
• Early years has secure foundations in phonics, early writing and routines
• Leaders have reset culture and expectations, and pupils, parents and staff recognise the difference
• Trust provides credible support and targets resources to improvement
• Pupils have broad extra-curricular opportunities, including trips and leadership roles
• Pupils speak maturely about respect, inclusion and different cultures

Areas for Improvement

• Attainment over time remains below national, including at the end of key stage 2
• Too many pupils leave without the skills and knowledge needed for the next stage
• Gaps in foundational writing skills are not addressed with enough urgency
• Teaching is inconsistent, with misconceptions not reliably addressed and knowledge not always secured
• Early years language, vocabulary and communication support is not effective enough
• Children in early years are not as prepared for Year 1 as they should be
• Pupils with SEND do not consistently receive timely, well-matched support
• Staff do not consistently identify changing needs or adapt teaching swiftly for pupils with SEND
• Assessment and progress checks for SEND support are too infrequent or imprecise
• Persistent absence remains too high and punctuality is a concern
• Attendance systems are maturing but do not yet demonstrate full impact
• Leaders' oversight of pupils' needs and vulnerabilities, including SEND, is not precise enough
• Safeguarding follow-up has some slight variation
• Improvements are too early to show sustained improvement over time
• Disadvantaged pupils' performance remains below national on the combined reading, writing and mathematics measure

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 Firs Primary School attended 91.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 30.5% 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, 8.0% of pupils at Firs Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 4 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 Firs Primary School had 17.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 47.6% 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, 18.3% of pupils at Firs Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.8% 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 Firs Primary School received £7,861 and spent £7,541 for each of its 327 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £347,000 (£1,060 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Washwood Heath Multi Academy Trust, income was £9,233 and spending £8,951 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.

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All schools in Birmingham · Birmingham local authority: places and applications

Firs Primary School is part of Washwood Heath Multi Academy Trust, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• Brownmead Primary Academy Birmingham
• Washwood Heath Academy Birmingham
• Topcliffe Primary School Birmingham
• Timberley Academy Birmingham
• Saltley Academy Birmingham
• Tile Cross Academy Birmingham
• Gossey Lane Academy Birmingham

What is Firs Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Firs Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Firs Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Firs Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Firs Primary School have?

Firs Primary School has 279 pupils on roll.

What age range does Firs Primary School cover?

Firs Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 48% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Firs Primary School?

Firs Primary School is at Dreghorn Road, Castle Bromwich, Firs Primary School, Birmingham, West Midlands, B36 8LL.