Windy Arbor Primary School

Windy Arbor Primary School is a 410-pupil academy in a deprived area of Birmingham, with well-above-average proportions of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, including a specially resourced provision for pupils with autism. Overall the school is performing at the expected standard, with personal development and wellbeing judged as strong. Leaders have built a highly tailored personal development programme that pupils embrace, and pupils behave well in a calm, orderly and inclusive environment. Pupils typically achieve in line with national averages by the end of key stage 2, with disadvantaged pupils performing above their peers nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. The school has accurate self-evaluation and has taken effective action to improve attendance and outcomes, though overall absence and persistent absence remain well above national averages, particularly for vulnerable pupils.

Strengths

• Personal development and wellbeing provision is highly tailored and of strong standard, preparing pupils extremely well for life in modern Britain.
• Pupils behave well in a calm, orderly environment and show respect for one another.
• The school has a highly inclusive culture with effective systems to identify and support pupils with additional needs.
• Disadvantaged pupils achieve above national averages for their peers in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The specially resourced provision for pupils with autism supports pupils to flourish and integrate well with mainstream peers.
• Leaders' evaluation of the school is highly accurate and they have taken swift, effective action to address areas for improvement.
• Trustees and the local advisory board support leaders effectively, with high expectations and appropriate resources.
• Staff access an effective programme of professional learning with precise coaching tailored to individual needs.
• Phonics is taught effectively and pupils secure important reading and mathematical knowledge at the appropriate stage.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of enrichment opportunities, and leaders remove barriers to ensure no pupil misses out.

Areas for Improvement

• Some learning activities do not provide enough opportunity for pupils to develop written responses, which hampers progress in writing.
• Handwriting and transcription skills vary across some year groups and subjects, affecting fluency and accuracy.
• Overall attendance remains below national levels, and persistent absence is high for all pupils, including vulnerable pupils.
• Some staff interactions in the early years do not deepen children's understanding and language as well as they should, leading to missed opportunities for vocabulary development.

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 Windy Arbor Primary School attended 92.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 24.3% 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, 1.7% of pupils at Windy Arbor 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 Windy Arbor Primary School had 18.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.9% 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, 25.8% of pupils at Windy Arbor Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 5 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 Windy Arbor Primary School received £8,635 and spent £8,236 for each of its 400 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,203,000 (£3,013 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of Prosper Together Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,576 and spending £7,319 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 Birmingham · Solihull local authority: places and applications

Windy Arbor Primary School is part of Prosper Together Multi Academy Trust, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• Fordbridge Community Primary School Birmingham
• Kingshurst Primary School Birmingham
• Castle Bromwich Junior School Birmingham
• Castle Bromwich Infant and Nursery School Birmingham

What is Windy Arbor Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Windy Arbor Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Windy Arbor Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Windy Arbor Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Windy Arbor Primary School have?

Windy Arbor Primary School has 407 pupils on roll.

What age range does Windy Arbor Primary School cover?

Windy Arbor Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Windy Arbor Primary School?

Windy Arbor Primary School is at Woodlands Way, Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham, West Midlands, B37 6RN.