Ferndale Primary School
Ferndale Avenue, Great Barr, Birmingham, B43 5QF
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Ruth Gillett
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- West Bromwich
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 678
- Pupils on roll
- 551
- URN
- 103982
- Local authority
- Sandwell
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01213573326
About this school
Ferndale Primary School is a community primary school in Birmingham. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 551 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 86 | 90 | 79 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 50% | 46% | 66% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 3% | 14% |
| Expected standard in reading | 62% | 64% | 81% |
| Expected standard in maths | 65% | 54% | 71% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 78% | 73% | 76% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 103.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 101.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.80 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Ferndale Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Sandwell average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50% | 55% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 46% | 57.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 66% | 60.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 599 |
| 2023/24 | 603 |
| 2024/25 | 584 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ferndale Primary School compares
Ferndale Primary School ranked 32nd of 84 primary schools in Sandwell for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 55% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 66% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 66% | 4.7% | 32.7% | 551 | — |
| Hamstead Primary School | 67% | 5.2% | 32% | 423 | 0.4 miles |
| St Mark's Catholic Primary School | 60% | 4.9% | 43.3% | 207 | 0.4 miles |
| Holy Name Catholic Primary School | — | — | — | 191 | 0.5 miles |
| Grove Vale Primary School | 83% | 4.6% | 13.6% | 421 | 0.7 miles |
| Calshot Primary School | 66% | 6.1% | 35.2% | 436 | 0.8 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 32.71%
- English as an additional language
- 25%
- Overall absence
- 4.71%
- Persistent absence
- 9.73%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Hamstead Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Birmingham
-
St Mark's Catholic Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Birmingham
-
Holy Name Catholic Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Birmingham
-
Grove Vale Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Birmingham
-
Calshot Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Birmingham
Other schools in Birmingham
Ferndale Primary School ranks 130th of the 273 ranked primary schools in Birmingham.
- Abbey Catholic Primary School Primary
- Acocks Green Primary School Primary
- Adderley Primary School Primary
- Al-Furqan Primary School Primary
- Albert Bradbeer Primary Academy Primary
- Allens Croft Primary School Primary
- Alston Primary School Primary
- Anderton Park Primary School Primary
- Anglesey Primary School Primary
- Arden Primary School Primary
- Ark Tindal Primary Academy Primary
- Aston Tower Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Ferndale Primary School teach?
- Ferndale Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Birmingham.
- Who is the headteacher of Ferndale Primary School?
- The headteacher of Ferndale Primary School is Mrs Ruth Gillett, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Ferndale Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ferndale Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Ferndale Primary School?
- Ferndale Primary School has 551 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Ferndale Primary School full?
- Ferndale Primary School has capacity for 678 pupils and 551 on roll (81%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Ferndale Primary School a faith school?
- No. Ferndale Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Ferndale Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Ferndale Primary School as having nursery classes.
- What SEN provision does Ferndale Primary School have?
- The schools register lists Ferndale Primary School's special educational needs provision as: OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Ferndale Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 50% in 2022/23 and 66% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ferndale Primary School rank locally?
- Ferndale Primary School ranked 32nd of 84 primary schools in Sandwell for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 55% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 66% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Ferndale Primary School's absence rate?
- Ferndale Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ferndale Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ferndale Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.