Birchen Coppice Academy

Birchen Coppice Academy is a welcoming, inclusive primary school at the heart of its community, with strong pastoral care and a clear sense of belonging. Behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision are all good, while the quality of education requires improvement. The school has made significant improvements since its previous inadequate inspection and is no longer judged to require significant improvement. Safeguarding is effective. The school's strengths include a strong reading and phonics provision, effective support for pupils with SEND, improving attendance, and well-planned personal development. Pupils behave well, feel safe, and benefit from committed leadership and additional trust support. Leaders have an accurate view of the school and understand what needs to be done next. The main areas for improvement are pupils' writing, inconsistent delivery of the curriculum, and foundation subjects that are still in the early stages of development. Some teaching does not deepen pupils' understanding, and in some subjects pupils do not secure or recall key knowledge. Staff expertise in delivering aspects of the curriculum is still developing.

Strengths

• Welcoming and inclusive school community with a strong sense of belonging
• High-quality pastoral care for pupils and their families
• Pupils behave well and feel safe
• Strong reading and phonics provision from the start
• Effective adaptation for pupils with SEND
• Attendance is improving strongly
• Personal development provision is carefully planned
• Committed leaders and trust provide strong support
• Leaders have an accurate view of the school
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' writing skills are not developed well enough over time
• The new writing approach is not yet fully embedded
• Curriculum delivery is inconsistent across subjects
• Some teaching does not deepen pupils' understanding
• Foundation subject curriculum is in early stages of implementation
• Some pupils cannot recall key knowledge in foundation subjects
• Staff subject-specific expertise is still developing

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 Birchen Coppice Academy attended 91.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 30.2% 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, 7.1% of pupils at Birchen Coppice 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 Birchen Coppice Academy had 14.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 37.0% 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, 34.8% of pupils at Birchen Coppice Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.5% 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 Birchen Coppice Academy received £9,342 and spent £11,398 for each of its 175 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £126,000 (£719 per pupil).

Across all 11 schools of Victoria Academies Trust, income was £7,711 and spending £7,574 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 Kidderminster · Worcestershire local authority: places and applications

Birchen Coppice Academy is part of Victoria Academies Trust, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• Foley Park Primary Academy Kidderminster
• Northfield Manor Primary Academy Birmingham
• Devonshire Junior Academy Smethwick
• Devonshire Infant Academy Smethwick
• Victoria Park Primary Smethwick
• Elm Tree Primary Academy Wednesbury
• Fibbersley Park Academy Willenhall
• Whitehall Nursery and Infant Academy Walsall
• Poppyfield Primary Academy Cannock
• Rowley Park Primary Academy Stafford

What is Birchen Coppice Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Birchen Coppice Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Birchen Coppice Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Birchen Coppice Academy was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Birchen Coppice Academy have?

Birchen Coppice Academy has 181 pupils on roll.

What age range does Birchen Coppice Academy cover?

Birchen Coppice Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Birchen Coppice Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 31% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Birchen Coppice Academy?

Birchen Coppice Academy is at Woodbury Road, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, DY11 7JJ.