SCHOOL PROFILE

Birchills Church of England Community Academy

Primary Academy sponsor led URN 139435
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 420 Published school capacity
Capacity used 105.2% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

16 April 2024
Latest published outcome Good
OEIF
Quality of education Good
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Good
INSPECTION HISTORY

Previous Ofsted activity

14 December 2022
Ungraded inspection School remains Good (Improving) - S5 Next
Published 2 February 2023
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy sponsor led
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Church of England
Local authority Walsall
Trust ST CHAD'S ACADEMIES TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 442 403 full-time · 39 part-time
Female pupils 241 54.5% of pupils
Male pupils 201 45.5% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

38.9%
14.1 pts above England
School 38.9%
Walsall 36.6%
West Midlands 30.6%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

55.4%
35.1 pts above England
School 55.4%
Walsall 24.3%
West Midlands 22.4%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.0%
1.0 pts below England
School 0.0%
Walsall 0.4%
West Midlands 0.6%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

Pakistani
41.6%
184
African
20.4%
90
White British
12.0%
53
Any other Mixed background
6.1%
27
Any other Asian background
4.8%
21
Any other White background
4.8%
21
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 19.5% 86 of 442 pupils
1.4 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 19.5%
Walsall 20.5%
West Midlands 21.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 17.2% 76 pupils
England 14.8% 2.4 pts above
EHC plans 2.3% 10 pupils
England 6.0% 3.8 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 37
Moderate learning difficulty 26
Other difficulty or disability 8
Social, emotional & mental health 7
Specific learning difficulty 3
Physical disability 2

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

37.0% 23.4 pts below England
School 37.0%
Walsall 58.2%
West Midlands 60.0%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

53.0%

20.8 pts below England

School 53.0%
Walsall 72.1%
West Midlands 73.0%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

45.0%

25.3 pts below England

School 45.0%
Walsall 67.8%
West Midlands 69.9%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

42.0%

30.0 pts below England

School 42.0%
Walsall 70.0%
West Midlands 71.4%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

7.54%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

1.32 pts higher than England
School 7.54%
Walsall 6.88%
West Midlands 6.28%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

27.30%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

11.48 pts higher than England
School 27.30%
Walsall 19.49%
West Midlands 16.42%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

1.84%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

0.03 pts higher than England
School 1.84%
Walsall 1.95%
West Midlands 1.82%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

105.2% 17.1 pts above England
Birchills Church of England Community Academy
105.2%
Walsall
97.4%
West Midlands
91.3%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information