St George's CofE First School and Nursery

St George's CofE First School and Nursery is a small Church of England first school in Redditch and part of Shires Multi Academy Trust. The June 2026 full inspection found it to be a happy, kind and inclusive place where pupils feel they belong. Behaviour is cooperative and respectful, bullying is very rare, and pupils are attentive and caring. Early reading and phonics are strengths, the curriculum is broad and well sequenced, and pupils generally achieve well from their starting points, including pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and others with vulnerabilities. Leadership is a positive feature. Leaders understand the school accurately, provide coherent staff development, and have secured improvement. Staff feel supported and valued, parents speak highly of the school, and governors and trust leaders provide effective oversight. The school also has a strong personal development offer, positive community links, and effective pastoral support. Safeguarding arrangements meet the required standards. The main areas for further work are attendance and curriculum consistency. Overall attendance is below the national average and persistent absence remains above it, although both are improving and persistent absence has reduced significantly. Leaders should continue to build on this work. Inspectors also want the curriculum to be taught consistently well in every subject so that pupils develop and retain detailed knowledge over time.

Strengths

• Early reading and systematic phonics are strong, with books well matched to pupils' sounds.
• Most pupils secure the foundations of early reading and pupils who fall behind usually catch up quickly.
• By the time pupils leave Year 4, their handwriting is fluent and joined, and they write well.
• Mathematics teaching builds secure number facts and fluency, including strong outcomes in the Year 4 multiplication tables check.
• The curriculum is broad, balanced, well planned and sequenced to reflect the school's context.
• The curriculum is adapted well for pupils who speak English as an additional language.
• Pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and other vulnerable pupils receive tailored support and achieve well.
• Staff identify pupils' needs quickly and accurately, and provision is well adapted to meet them.
• Early years provision gives children a positive start, identifies gaps quickly and supports progress well.
• Leaders provide coherent professional development and manage staff workload appropriately.
• Staff are proud to work at the school, and parents speak highly positively about it.
• Governance is strong and the recent trust merger was managed smoothly, maintaining vision and oversight.
• Pupils are kind, tolerant and respectful, and behaviour across the school is cooperative.
• Pupils benefit from a coherent personal development programme, effective pastoral support and community links.
• Attendance is improving and persistent absence has reduced dramatically.

Areas for Improvement

• Overall attendance is below the national average, although it is improving.
• Persistent absence remains above the national average, despite recent reductions.
• Leaders need to ensure their work consistently improves attendance and reduces persistent absence further.
• The curriculum is not yet taught consistently well in all subjects.
• Pupils need further support to develop and retain detailed knowledge over time across the curriculum.

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 George's CofE First School and Nursery attended 93.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.9% 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, 1.8% of pupils at St George's CofE First School and Nursery 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 George's CofE First School and Nursery had 18.2 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, 20.0% of pupils at St George's CofE First School and Nursery were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.6% 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 St George's CofE First School and Nursery received £9,079 and spent £7,611 for each of its 160 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £57,000 (£354 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of Shires Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,740 and spending £7,633 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 Redditch · Worcestershire local authority: places and applications

St George's CofE First School and Nursery is part of Shires Multi Academy Trust, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• St Luke's CofE First School Redditch
• The Vaynor First School Redditch
• Webheath Academy Primary School Redditch
• Crabbs Cross Academy Redditch
• Beoley First School Redditch
• Studley High School Studley
• Astwood Bank Primary School Redditch
• Ridgeway Secondary School Redditch
• Feckenham CofE Primary School Redditch
• North Bromsgrove High School Bromsgrove

What is St George's CofE First School and Nursery's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St George's CofE First School and Nursery is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was St George's CofE First School and Nursery last inspected by Ofsted?

St George's CofE First School and Nursery was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does St George's CofE First School and Nursery have?

St George's CofE First School and Nursery has 170 pupils on roll.

What age range does St George's CofE First School and Nursery cover?

St George's CofE First School and Nursery for pupils aged 3 to 9.

Where is St George's CofE First School and Nursery?

St George's CofE First School and Nursery is at Stevenson Avenue, St. Georges C of E First School and Nursery, Redditch, Worcestershire, B98 8LU.