Anna Seward Primary

Anna Seward Primary is a growing first-time school. Inspectors found the school meets expected standards in safeguarding, attendance and behaviour, early years, inclusion, and personal development and wellbeing. Safeguarding is met, and pupils are safe and feel safe. Attendance is in line with national averages, persistent absence is rare, and pupils generally behave well. Early years provision is a particular strength: children benefit from strong relationships, well-sequenced learning, effective SEND support, and good phonics teaching. Inclusion and personal development are also positive, with vulnerable pupils accessing support and the wider school offer. However, achievement, curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance require attention. Too many pupils do not secure key handwriting, spelling and mathematical knowledge, and Year 1 phonics screening outcomes are below national averages. Some pupils, especially those with lower starting points or SEND, do not progress as well as they should because tasks are not matched precisely enough. Staff sometimes implement the curriculum inconsistently or introduce too many concepts at once. Governance has previously not ensured the resources needed, leading to staffing turbulence that affected curriculum quality and some parents' confidence. Trustees have now set a clearer direction, but impact on standards is not yet evident. This was the school's first inspection. It currently has pupils in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 and will grow by one cohort each year until it becomes one-form entry through Year 6. Leaders know the right priorities, including improving writing and mathematics and adapting tasks to pupils' starting points, and there is a solid foundation in early reading, inclusion and pupil wellbeing.

Strengths

• Safeguarding culture is open and positive, with legal requirements met.
• Attendance is consistently in line with national averages, including for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Persistent absence is rare, and early years children attend particularly well.
• Pupils generally behave well in a calm and orderly environment, and bullying or discrimination is dealt with quickly.
• Early years provision supports smooth transitions, strong relationships and good progress across the seven areas of learning.
• Phonics is taught well in the early years, helping children learn to read at the earliest stage.
• Leaders identify pupils' needs early and implement effective support plans, including for children with SEND.
• Disadvantaged pupils learn to read quickly and access the full school offer.
• The personal development programme is ambitious and coherent, covering health, safety, online safety and British values.
• A wide range of enrichment, clubs and trips is available, and leaders ensure all pupils can attend.
• Pastoral support is responsive, and pupils know trusted adults they can speak to.
• Reading provision has improved so that pupils across the school now read at the level expected for their age.
• Leaders accurately evaluate the curriculum and teaching and have established effective systems for attendance, behaviour and inclusion.
• Trustees have now set a clear strategic direction and evaluate the school carefully.

Areas for Improvement

• Year 1 phonics screening check outcomes are lower than national averages.
• Too many pupils do not secure important handwriting, spelling and mathematical knowledge.
• Some pupils are not ready for the next stage of education because of gaps in foundational knowledge.
• Handwriting is not consistently accurate or fluent, so some pupils' work is not as high-quality as it could be.
• Some pupils, including those with lower starting points and those with SEND, do not progress as well as they should.
• Work is not always matched precisely enough to pupils' starting points.
• Staff do not always implement the curriculum effectively, and tasks sometimes lack high-quality practice and recall opportunities.
• Staff sometimes introduce too many concepts at once, making it hard for pupils to understand key learning points.
• Leaders know more work is needed on early writing and mathematics to match the quality of reading provision.
• Governance over time did not ensure the school had the resources needed, causing staffing turbulence.
• Staffing turbulence has negatively affected curriculum teaching and pupils' achievement.
• The impact of trustees' recent actions is not yet evident on standards within the school.
• Some parents' confidence has been affected by staffing instability, and trust needs rebuilding.
• Some staff would like further support during periods of change.

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 Anna Seward Primary attended 94.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.3% 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, 3.4% of pupils at Anna Seward Primary 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 Anna Seward Primary had 24.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 60.0% 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, 13.9% of pupils at Anna Seward Primary were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.1% 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 Anna Seward Primary received £11,500 and spent £10,607 for each of its 58 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £43,000 (-£741 per pupil).

Across all 23 schools of The Arthur Terry Learning Partnership, income was £7,703 and spending £8,151 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 Lichfield · Staffordshire local authority: places and applications

Anna Seward Primary is part of The Arthur Terry Learning Partnership, which runs 23 schools. The nearest others:

• St Michael's CofE (C) Primary School Lichfield
• St Chad's CofE Primary School Lichfield
• Nether Stowe School Lichfield
• Scotch Orchard Primary School Lichfield
• Greysbrooke Primary School Lichfield
• Hill West Primary School Sutton Coldfield
• Coton Green Primary School Tamworth
• The Arthur Terry School Sutton Coldfield
• Dunstall Park Primary School Tamworth
• Mere Green Primary School Sutton Coldfield

What is Anna Seward Primary's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Anna Seward Primary is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Anna Seward Primary last inspected by Ofsted?

Anna Seward Primary was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Anna Seward Primary have?

Anna Seward Primary has 122 pupils on roll.

What age range does Anna Seward Primary cover?

Anna Seward Primary for pupils aged 3 to 11.

Where is Anna Seward Primary?

Anna Seward Primary is at Bridgeman Way, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS14 0AL.