Greenacres Primary School

Greenacres Primary School is a good school across all key judgements following this March 2025 graded inspection, having previously been rated as requiring improvement. The report describes a warm, caring and nurturing school where pupils are happy, polite and enthusiastic about learning, and where staff know pupils well and support their confidence and behaviour effectively. Leadership has stabilised after a period of staffing change, staff morale is high, and the trust provides useful expertise, including for SEND and curriculum development. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school has an ambitious curriculum that is securely planned in most subjects, and pupils generally learn successfully and make effective progress. Reading is a high priority, with effective phonics teaching in the early years and key stage 1, and pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported through appropriate adaptations. Behaviour has improved through positive and decisive action, classrooms are calm, and early years routines help children show independence and engagement. Personal development is supported through assemblies, school council roles and inclusion champions. There are still areas to improve. The teaching of higher-order reading skills in key stage 2 is not precise enough, so some pupils do not become as fluent and confident in reading as intended. In a small number of subjects, the curriculum is at an early stage of implementation, leading to gaps in pupils’ knowledge and missing foundational content. Attendance and punctuality remain concerns for some pupils, and the school’s work with parents to improve this is not yet sufficiently effective.

Strengths

• Warm, caring and nurturing ethos with positive relationships between staff and pupils
• Pupils are happy, polite, enthusiastic learners who behave well in class
• Staff have high expectations and provide quick, sensitive support when behaviour falls below expectations
• The curriculum is ambitious and clearly sequenced in most subjects
• SEND is identified early from the early years and appropriate adaptations are made
• Reading is a high priority, with effective daily phonics teaching in the early years and key stage 1
• Pupils learn successfully and make effective progress across a wide range of subjects
• Well-developed subject knowledge and focused assessment help identify and fix misconceptions
• Behaviour has improved through positive and decisive action, and classrooms are calm and focused
• Early years routines support high levels of independence and engagement
• Assemblies and roles such as school councillors and inclusion champions support pupils’ personal development
• Leadership is now more stable, staff morale is high and the trust provides valuable expertise
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• The teaching of higher-order reading skills such as inference and deduction in key stage 2 is not precise enough
• Some pupils do not become as fluent and confident in reading as the school intends
• In a small number of subjects, the curriculum is at an early stage of implementation and pupils have gaps in knowledge
• Some pupils lack prerequisite foundational knowledge needed to access new content
• Some pupils do not attend school regularly or punctually, so they miss valuable learning
• The school’s work with parents to improve attendance is not yet sufficiently effective

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 Greenacres Primary School attended 90.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 31.0% 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, 5.6% of pupils at Greenacres Primary School 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 Greenacres Primary School had 20.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 34.3% 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, 23.8% of pupils at Greenacres Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 8.6% 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 2024–25 Greenacres Primary School received £10,134 and spent £9,857 for each of its 119 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £117,000 (£985 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of Empower Trust, income was £7,163 and spending £6,944 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 Shrewsbury · Shropshire local authority: places and applications

Greenacres Primary School is part of Empower Trust, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• Wilfred Owen Primary School Shrewsbury
• Woodfield Infant School & Nursery Shrewsbury
• St George's Junior School Shrewsbury
• St Marys CofE Primary School Shrewsbury
• St Peter's CofE Primary School Shrewsbury
• Market Drayton Junior School Market Drayton
• Market Drayton Infant & Nursery School Market Drayton

What is Greenacres Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Greenacres Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Greenacres Primary School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Greenacres Primary School have?

Greenacres Primary School has 105 pupils on roll.

What age range does Greenacres Primary School cover?

Greenacres Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 50% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Greenacres Primary School?

Greenacres Primary School is at Rutland, Off York Road, Harlescott Grange, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY1 3QG.