Dorridge Primary School

Dorridge Primary School is a happy, high-performing school with a strong family feel. Pupils are safe, rarely absent, welcoming to newcomers and behave impeccably; behaviour and personal development are particular strengths. The school has high academic ambition, and pupils, including those with SEND, achieve very well in reading, writing and mathematics. Early reading and phonics are taught skilfully, and mathematics teaching builds fluency and confidence. The school joined Arden Multi Academy Trust in September 2023, and this was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic; under the current framework it did not receive an overall effectiveness grade. There is still work to do in some foundation subjects. The precise knowledge pupils should learn is not always explicit or logically sequenced, and assessment in some foundation subjects is not used well enough to check understanding and address misconceptions. Early years learning opportunities sometimes underestimate what children can do given their strong starting points. Leadership has a secure understanding of improvement priorities, parents hold the school in high regard, and governors and the trust support continual improvement. Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Strengths

• Pupils are proud, safe, happy and rarely absent, with a strong family feel.
• Pupils behave impeccably, are polite and show inspiring respect for each other and the school environment.
• Pupils achieve highly in reading, writing and mathematics, including those with SEND.
• Early reading and phonics are taught skilfully, and almost all pupils meet or exceed phonics expectations.
• Mathematics teaching builds fluency and confidence by regularly revisiting prior learning.
• Pupils with SEND are identified promptly and supported well to learn alongside their peers.
• Personal development is exceptional, with a wide range of meaningful opportunities and sophisticated character development.
• Older pupils support younger children sensitively, and social times are calm and purposeful.
• Early years children settle quickly, take responsibility and concentrate well.
• Leadership has a secure understanding of improvement priorities and is held in high regard by parents.
• Governors and the trust provide strong support for continual improvement.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In some foundation subjects, the precise knowledge pupils should learn is not explicit or logically sequenced.
• Assessment in some foundation subjects is not used well enough to check understanding and address misconceptions.
• Some foundation-subject learning activities do not enable pupils to demonstrate subject-specific understanding.
• Early years learning opportunities sometimes underestimate what children can do given their strong starting points.

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 Dorridge Primary School attended 97.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 1.3% 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, 1.0% of pupils at Dorridge 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 Dorridge Primary School had 23.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.4% 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, 11.8% of pupils at Dorridge Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.6% 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 Dorridge Primary School received £6,952 and spent £6,937 for each of its 662 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £475,000 (£718 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of Arden Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,403 and spending £7,340 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 Solihull · Solihull local authority: places and applications

Dorridge Primary School is part of Arden Multi Academy Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Arden Solihull
• Lode Heath School Solihull
• Coppice Academy Solihull
• Henley In Arden School Henley-In-Arden
• Park Hall Academy Birmingham

What is Dorridge Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Dorridge Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Dorridge Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Dorridge Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Dorridge Primary School have?

Dorridge Primary School has 702 pupils on roll.

What age range does Dorridge Primary School cover?

Dorridge Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 78% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Dorridge Primary School?

Dorridge Primary School is at Station Road, Dorridge, Solihull, West Midlands, B93 8EU.