SCHOOL PROFILE

Church of the Ascension CofE Primary School

Primary Academy converter URN 148864
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 315 Published school capacity
Capacity used 96.2% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 4 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest inspection

20 January 2026
Latest published outcome Met
Renewed framework
Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Expected standard
Curriculum & teaching Needs attention
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance & behaviour Expected standard
Personal development Expected standard
Leadership & governance Expected standard
INSPECTION HISTORY

Previous Ofsted activity

4 November 2021
Ungraded inspection School remains Good
Published 5 December 2021
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy converter
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Church of England
Local authority Dudley
Trust THE DIOCESE OF WORCESTER MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 303 303 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 156 51.5% of pupils
Male pupils 147 48.5% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

5.3%
19.5 pts below England
School 5.3%
Dudley 27.8%
West Midlands 30.6%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

1.7%
18.6 pts below England
School 1.7%
Dudley 13.2%
West Midlands 22.4%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.0%
1.0 pts below England
School 0.0%
Dudley 0.2%
West Midlands 0.6%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
90.4%
274
Indian
2.3%
7
White and Asian
2.0%
6
White and Black Caribbean
1.7%
5
Any other White background
1.0%
3
Caribbean
1.0%
3
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 13.5% 41 of 303 pupils
7.3 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 13.5%
Dudley 20.7%
West Midlands 21.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 11.6% 35 pupils
England 14.8% 3.2 pts below
EHC plans 2.0% 6 pupils
England 6.0% 4.1 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 21
Social, emotional & mental health 10
Specific learning difficulty 6
Vision impairment 2
Autistic spectrum disorder 1
Physical disability 1

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

73.0% 12.6 pts above England
School 73.0%
Dudley 61.2%
West Midlands 60.0%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

80.0%

6.2 pts above England

School 80.0%
Dudley 74.2%
West Midlands 73.0%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

75.0%

4.7 pts above England

School 75.0%
Dudley 72.0%
West Midlands 69.9%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

80.0%

8.0 pts above England

School 80.0%
Dudley 73.2%
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

3.91%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

2.30 pts lower than England
School 3.91%
Dudley 6.50%
West Midlands 6.28%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

6.91%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

8.91 pts lower than England
School 6.91%
Dudley 17.87%
West Midlands 16.42%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.36%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.44 pts lower than England
School 0.36%
Dudley 2.10%
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

96.2% 8.0 pts above England
Church of the Ascension CofE Primary School
96.2%
Dudley
93.7%
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