Birchfield Primary School

Birchfield Primary School has achieved a 'Good' rating in its first inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, showcasing a commitment to providing a supportive and safe environment for its pupils. The school has placed a strong emphasis on personal development, maintaining high expectations for student behaviour and welfare. Staff build positive relationships with children, enabling them to feel valued and engaged in their learning. The curriculum is ambitious and well-structured, with effective teaching particularly evident in English, mathematics, and science. Support for pupils with special educational needs is generally strong, although further clarity in intervention targets is needed for optimal progress.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, confident and know how to keep themselves safe.
• Leaders have high expectations of all pupils, who respond positively.
• The school provides a broad and balanced curriculum, particularly strong in English, mathematics and science.
• Effective systematic phonics teaching supports early reading and writing skills.
• Staff develop caring and positive relationships with pupils.
• Strong support is given to pupils with special educational needs in the nurture unit.
• There are numerous extracurricular opportunities enhancing learning.

Areas for Improvement

• Some curriculum questions lack clarity leading to gaps in knowledge.
• Limited swimming tuition in PE results in many pupils not learning to swim proficiently.
• Targets for pupils with SEND in intervention support are often imprecise.
• Persistent absenteeism remains an issue for too many 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 Birchfield Primary School attended 94.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.6% 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, 0.6% of pupils at Birchfield 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 Birchfield Primary School had 21.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.3% 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, 15.0% of pupils at Birchfield Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 15 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 Birchfield Primary School received £7,447 and spent £5,152 for each of its 609 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £769,000 (£1,263 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Pa Community Trust, income was £7,910 and spending £7,534 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

Birchfield Primary School is part of Pa Community Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Prince Albert Junior and Infant School Birmingham
• Heathfield Primary School Birmingham
• Prince Albert High School Birmingham
• Highfield Junior and Infant School Birmingham
• Sutton Park Primary Sutton Coldfield
• Lakey Lane Primary School Birmingham

What is Birchfield Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Birchfield Primary School is Good, from an inspection in October 2022.

When was Birchfield Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Birchfield Primary School was last inspected in October 2022.

How many pupils does Birchfield Primary School have?

Birchfield Primary School has 605 pupils on roll.

What age range does Birchfield Primary School cover?

Birchfield Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 72% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Birchfield Primary School?

Birchfield Primary School is at Trinity Road, Aston, Birmingham, B6 6AJ.