Little Aston Primary Academy

Little Aston Primary Academy is a warm, inclusive primary school where pupils achieve very well. Inspectors found particular strength in pupils’ achievement, inclusion, and personal development and wellbeing. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils, make strong progress, and Year 6 outcomes have been well above national figures in reading, writing and mathematics. Behaviour is excellent, pupils feel safe and respected, and safeguarding standards are met.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve very well across the curriculum, with outcomes above national figures in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities thrive because of an inclusive culture and precise support.
• Leaders use additional funding effectively to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, including higher prior attainers.
• The personal development and wellbeing programme is ambitious, well considered and goes well beyond the academic curriculum.
• Pupils are articulate about diversity, faiths, cultures and democracy, and they value contributing to the school community.
• Pupils have excellent attitudes to learning, are polite and respectful, and behave consistently well.
• Bullying and discrimination are rare and are dealt with swiftly and effectively when they occur.
• Early reading and phonics teaching is effective, and children read books well matched to their phonics knowledge.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of enrichment opportunities, trips, visits and pupil passports that build resilience and confidence.
• Leaders, governors and trustees have a clear understanding of the school and have secured significant improvements, especially in inclusive classroom practice.
• Staff benefit from a successful professional learning programme and feel valued and well supported.
• Parents and carers speak highly of the school’s warm family feel, care and nurture.

Areas for Improvement

• A small number of pupils struggle to attend school as regularly as they should, and persistent absence remains a focus for leaders.
• Teachers do not always adapt their teaching sharply enough when they identify gaps in pupils’ understanding.
• Early years staff sometimes do not fully maximise high-quality discussions and interactions to extend children’s communication and understanding.

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 Little Aston Primary Academy attended 95.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.8% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Little Aston Primary 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 Little Aston Primary Academy had 20.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.0% 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, 18.7% of pupils at Little Aston Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.5% 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 Little Aston Primary Academy received £6,539 and spent £6,079 for each of its 225 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £333,000 (£1,479 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of Staffordshire University Academies Trust, income was £7,351 and spending £7,265 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 Sutton Coldfield · Staffordshire local authority: places and applications

Little Aston Primary Academy is part of Staffordshire University Academies Trust, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• Charnwood Primary Academy Lichfield
• Boney Hay Primary Academy Burntwood
• Moorgate Primary Academy Tamworth
• Staffordshire University Academy Cannock
• Littleton Green Community School Cannock
• St Paul's CofE First School Wolverhampton
• All Saints CofE Primary School, Bednall Stafford
• Perton Primary Academy Wolverhampton
• St Leonard's CofE First School Stafford
• St Augustine's CofE Academy Ashbourne

What is Little Aston Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Little Aston Primary Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Little Aston Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Little Aston Primary Academy was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Little Aston Primary Academy have?

Little Aston Primary Academy has 203 pupils on roll.

What age range does Little Aston Primary Academy cover?

Little Aston Primary Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Little Aston Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 82% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Little Aston Primary Academy?

Little Aston Primary Academy is at Forge Lane, Little Aston, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B74 3BE.