Forest Hills Primary School

Forest Hills Primary School is a small, inclusive primary in the Perry Hall Multi Academy Trust serving a cohort with much higher than average levels of disadvantage and special educational needs and/or disabilities. Inspectors found an open safeguarding culture and a school where pupils feel safe, respected and happy. Attendance is prioritised effectively, behaviour is calm and positive, and the curriculum is ambitious and well taught, with particular strength in reading, inclusion and personal development. Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are supported well, and leaders' work typically helps gaps close quickly. Leadership and governance are secure, with leaders knowing the school well and staff and parents speaking positively about the school. The main areas for further development sit in achievement and early years. Overall attainment in the combined reading, writing and mathematics measure remains below national averages over recent years, with writing and mathematics also below, and Year 1 phonics outcomes below national despite effective teaching and catch-up support. There is some variability in handwriting. Early years provision is well led and children are happy and secure, but staff do not always maximise opportunities to develop language and vocabulary. Leaders are also working to secure consistently high teaching in all subjects and year groups, building on the strong practice in reading.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture where concerns are identified and managed.
• Leaders prioritise attendance and work tirelessly with families; disadvantaged pupils' attendance is above that of similar pupils nationally.
• Behaviour is highly positive, with clear routines, consistent expectations and rare disruption to learning.
• The curriculum is ambitious, broad and balanced, and carefully designed to meet the needs of all pupils.
• Early reading, writing and mathematics are prioritised, underpinned by an expert phonics programme.
• Teachers are subject experts who explain and model clearly and check pupils' learning carefully.
• Teaching is highly inclusive, with effective adaptations and swift support for pupils who need to catch up.
• Inclusion is a strength; pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported effectively alongside their peers.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND make effective progress, and gaps in learning typically close quickly.
• Personal development and wellbeing provision is well planned and helps pupils understand relationships, diversity and British values.
• A wide range of clubs, trips and events broadens pupils' experiences and raises aspirations, with financial barriers removed.
• Leaders are knowledgeable and moral-purpose driven, and staff value the professional learning and workload consideration they receive.
• Governors and trustees provide effective support and challenge and know the school well.
• Pupils are proud, respectful and kind, and are typically well prepared for secondary school.

Areas for Improvement

• Overall attainment in the combined reading, writing and mathematics measure is below national averages over the latest three-year period.
• Attainment in writing and mathematics is below national averages.
• Year 1 phonics outcomes are below the national average, although teaching and catch-up support are effective.
• Handwriting standards vary across the school.
• Early years staff do not always maximise interactions to build children's language and vocabulary.
• Teaching is not yet consistently high in all subjects and year groups; leaders need to build on the strong practice in reading.
• Some disadvantaged attainment gaps remain relative to non-disadvantaged pupils nationally, particularly in writing and mathematics.

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 Forest Hills Primary School attended 94.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.1% 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 Forest Hills 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 Forest Hills Primary School had 12.3 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, 32.9% of pupils at Forest Hills Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 8.9% 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 Forest Hills Primary School received £10,333 and spent £9,891 for each of its 80 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £55,000 (-£682 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of Perry Hall Multi-Academy Trust, income was £7,200 and spending £6,904 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 Rugeley · Staffordshire local authority: places and applications

Forest Hills Primary School is part of Perry Hall Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Tillington Manor Primary School Stafford
• Berrybrook Primary School Wolverhampton
• Perry Hall Primary School Wolverhampton
• Dunstall Hill Primary School Wolverhampton
• Mesty Croft Primary Wednesbury
• Woodthorne Primary School Wolverhampton
• Bird's Bush Primary School Tamworth
• Sledmere Primary School Dudley
• Stanley Road Primary School Worcester

What is Forest Hills Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Forest Hills Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Forest Hills Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Forest Hills Primary School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Forest Hills Primary School have?

Forest Hills Primary School has 79 pupils on roll.

What age range does Forest Hills Primary School cover?

Forest Hills Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 44% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Forest Hills Primary School?

Forest Hills Primary School is at School Road, Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 2PD.