Mary Howard Church of England Primary School

Mary Howard Church of England Primary School is a small, community-focused school where pupils are well cared for and achieve high standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Behaviour and attitudes are outstanding: pupils are consistently polite, respectful, kind and highly positive about learning, and they feel safe. The curriculum is well structured and ambitious, reading and phonics are a high priority, early years provision is calm and purposeful, attendance is high, and personal development and leadership are good. Safeguarding is effective. The school is part of The Staffordshire Schools Multi Academy Trust, and trustees and the local governing committee know their roles and hold leaders to account well. The inspection was the school’s first routine section 5 inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and no overall effectiveness grade is awarded under current arrangements. The school was previously judged outstanding before its conversion to academy status. Leaders have created a nurturing culture summed up by the motto ‘grow and flourish’, with strong community links and wide enrichment opportunities. There are two main areas for improvement. Assessment information is not consistently used to address gaps in pupils’ knowledge in some subjects, which affects how well some pupils achieve. In addition, the curriculum is not adapted successfully enough for some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, so these pupils do not achieve as well as they could. Early years vocabulary development has also been identified as an area to improve and is being addressed.

Strengths

• Pupils behave exceptionally well and show very positive attitudes to learning
• Pupils are consistently polite, respectful and kind to one another
• Reading and phonics are a high priority and taught well
• Most pupils achieve high standards in reading, writing and mathematics
• The curriculum is well structured with ambitious aims
• Early years provision is calm and purposeful, with confident and independent children
• Pupils feel safe and are well cared for
• Attendance is high, with no pupil groups disadvantaged by poor attendance
• Personal development is strong, including British values, well-being support and community citizenship
• Trustees and the local governing committee know their roles and hold leaders to account fully
• Staff well-being is prioritised and workload is well managed

Areas for Improvement

• Gaps in pupils’ knowledge are not consistently addressed in some subjects, affecting achievement
• The curriculum is not adapted successfully enough for some pupils with SEND, so they do not achieve as well as they could

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 Mary Howard Church of England Primary School attended 97.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 2.9% 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 Mary Howard Church of England 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 Mary Howard Church of England Primary School had 10.7 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, 8.7% of pupils at Mary Howard Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.5% 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 Mary Howard Church of England Primary School received £12,719 and spent £12,159 for each of its 36 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £79,000 (£2,191 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of The Staffordshire Schools Multi Academy Trust, income was £8,220 and spending £8,021 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 Tamworth · Staffordshire local authority: places and applications

Mary Howard Church of England Primary School is part of The Staffordshire Schools Multi Academy Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• The Howard Primary School Tamworth
• St Andrew's Church of England Primary School Tamworth
• The Richard Crosse CofE Primary School Burton-On-Trent
• The St. Mary's CofE Primary School Rugeley
• Anson CofE Primary School Stafford
• All Saints Church of England Primary School and Nursery Stafford

What is Mary Howard Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Mary Howard Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was Mary Howard Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Mary Howard Church of England Primary School was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does Mary Howard Church of England Primary School have?

Mary Howard Church of England Primary School has 46 pupils on roll.

What age range does Mary Howard Church of England Primary School cover?

Mary Howard Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Mary Howard Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 100% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Mary Howard Church of England Primary School?

Mary Howard Church of England Primary School is at School Lane, Edingale, Tamworth, Staffordshire, B79 9JJ.