St Mary's CofE First Academy

St Mary's CofE First Academy is a small Church of England school in the St Chad's Academies Trust. Inspectors found the strongest practice in attendance and behaviour and in the early years. Pupils attend regularly, behave respectfully and feel safe, while children in Nursery and Reception benefit from carefully planned learning and responsive teaching. Safeguarding standards are met, and leaders have created a calm, inclusive culture. Across the core areas of achievement, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development, the school is performing securely. Pupils develop solid foundations in reading, writing and mathematics, and pupils with SEND or disadvantaged backgrounds are well supported. The interim headteacher and the trust have acted quickly to improve consistency, staff morale and parental engagement. The main areas for further work are the wider curriculum and personal development. Teaching in some foundation subjects, such as history, geography and science, is not consistently adapted to meet pupils' different needs, so some pupils do not build knowledge as securely. Pupils are also sometimes less confident talking about other world religions and places of worship. These are clear next steps rather than serious weaknesses, and leaders have the capacity to address them.

Strengths

• Leaders have created a calm, welcoming and inclusive school culture where positive behaviour is the norm.
• Attendance is consistently above average, with early and effective support for pupils and families.
• Early years provision is a clear strength, with carefully planned learning and highly responsive teaching.
• Pupils develop secure foundational skills in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Inclusion is effective, with timely support for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
• Leadership and governance are driving improvement, supported well by the trust.
• Staff morale and wellbeing are strong, with leaders providing practical support.
• Personal development and pastoral care are well planned and help pupils feel safe and supported.
• Pupils benefit from enrichment, clubs and leadership opportunities that build confidence and character.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching in some foundation subjects, such as history, geography and science, is not consistently adapted to meet pupils' different needs.
• Variation in wider curriculum delivery means some pupils do not build secure knowledge as effectively as they could.
• Pupils are sometimes less confident talking about other world religions and places of worship.
• Personal development could be strengthened to broaden pupils' understanding of different faiths and cultures.

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 St Mary's CofE First Academy attended 96.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.0% 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, 1.1% of pupils at St Mary's CofE First 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 St Mary's CofE First Academy had 42.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 11.9% of pupils at St Mary's CofE First Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.1% 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 St Mary's CofE First Academy received £7,877 and spent £7,806 for each of its 88 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £122,000 (£1,388 per pupil).

Across all 19 schools of St Chad'S Academies Trust, income was £6,975 and spending £7,330 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 South Staffordshire · Staffordshire local authority: places and applications

St Mary's CofE First Academy is part of St Chad'S Academies Trust, which runs 19 schools. The nearest others:

• Brewood Middle CofE Academy Stafford
• Havergal CofE (C) Primary School Wolverhampton
• St John's CofE Primary Academy Stafford
• St Jude's Church of England Primary Academy Wolverhampton
• Trinity CofE Primary Academy Wolverhampton
• Bishop Lonsdale Church of England Primary Academy Stafford
• Dawley Church of England Primary Academy Telford
• All Saints National Academy Walsall
• Churchfield CofE Primary Academy Rugeley
• Birchills Church of England Community Academy Walsall

What is St Mary's CofE First Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary's CofE First Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was St Mary's CofE First Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mary's CofE First Academy was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does St Mary's CofE First Academy have?

St Mary's CofE First Academy has 84 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mary's CofE First Academy cover?

St Mary's CofE First Academy for pupils aged 3 to 9.

Where is St Mary's CofE First Academy?

St Mary's CofE First Academy is at Marston Road, Wheaton Aston, Staffordshire, ST19 9PQ.