Caldmore Primary Academy

Caldmore Primary Academy is an inclusive, richly diverse primary school that pupils and parents describe as a calm haven in a busy urban community. Inspectors found positive relationships, warm welcomes for pupils joining at different points, and good behaviour underpinned by the Caldmore Way. The school has high expectations and pupils make good progress from their starting points, although published key stage 2 outcomes are not yet in line with national expectations, partly because of high pupil mobility. The school's work is strong in many areas. Early years provision gets children off to a good start, with communication and language at the heart of the curriculum. SEND is identified quickly and newly arrived pupils who speak English as an additional language are well supported. Curriculum sequencing is effective in many subjects, including writing, phonics, science, PE and design and technology, and reading catch-up helps pupils improve fluency rapidly. Personal development is well planned, safeguarding is effective, and staff morale is high. There are still areas to improve. In some wider curriculum subjects, the quality of learning and checking varies, assessment is not used consistently to check what pupils remember, and curriculum sequencing is still developing. As a result, pupils do not always connect new learning with prior knowledge. The school is already seeking trust advice on these aspects. This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and inspectors took the pandemic's impact into account.

Strengths

• Inclusive and warmly welcoming school with a calm, respectful culture
• Pupils behave well and follow the Caldmore Way
• Pupils make good progress from their starting points
• Strong early years provision with communication and language at the heart
• Effective early identification and support for SEND pupils
• Good support for newly arrived pupils speaking English as an additional language
• Well-sequenced curriculum and effective phonics in many subjects
• Reading catch-up helps pupils improve fluency rapidly
• Broad personal development programme prepares pupils for life in modern Britain
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• High staff morale and leaders responsive to workload and well-being
• Trust understands the school's strengths and areas for improvement

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment systems are not used consistently across some wider curriculum subjects
• Curriculum sequencing in some wider subjects is still under development
• In some subjects pupils do not build on prior learning or make connections
• Variation in the quality of learning and checking in the wider curriculum is not always picked up
• Published outcomes are not in line with national expectations, despite high pupil mobility

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 Caldmore Primary Academy attended 95.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.7% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Caldmore Primary 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 Caldmore Primary Academy had 24.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.2% 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, 15.8% of pupils at Caldmore 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 Caldmore Primary Academy received £8,179 and spent £7,506 for each of its 401 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £71,000 (£178 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of Academy Transformation Trust, income was £9,055 and spending £8,540 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 Walsall · Walsall local authority: places and applications

Caldmore Primary Academy is part of Academy Transformation Trust, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• North Walsall Primary Academy Walsall
• Phoenix Academy Walsall
• Pool Hayes Academy Willenhall
• Jubilee Academy Mossley Walsall
• Bristnall Hall Academy Oldbury
• The Queen Elizabeth Academy Atherstone
• Sun Academy Bradwell Newcastle-Under-Lyme
• Star Academy, Sandyford Stoke-On-Trent
• Sutton Community Academy Sutton-In-Ashfield
• The Dukeries Academy Newark

What is Caldmore Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Caldmore Primary Academy is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Caldmore Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Caldmore Primary Academy was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Caldmore Primary Academy have?

Caldmore Primary Academy has 436 pupils on roll.

What age range does Caldmore Primary Academy cover?

Caldmore Primary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 57% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Caldmore Primary Academy?

Caldmore Primary Academy is at Carless Street, Walsall, West Midlands, WS1 3RH.