St Matthew's CofE Primary School
Windmill Lane, Smethwick, B66 3LX
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Fiona Deakin
- Diocese
- Diocese of Birmingham
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Smethwick
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 464
- Pupils on roll
- 470
- URN
- 104000
- Local authority
- Sandwell
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01215581651
About this school
St Matthew's CofE Primary School is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Smethwick. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 470 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Matthew's CofE Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 32 | 59 | 59 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 63% | 78% | 71% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 13% | 10% | 12% |
| Expected standard in reading | 69% | 83% | 75% |
| Expected standard in maths | 88% | 86% | 80% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 88% | 88% | 83% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 107.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 107.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.30 | - | - |
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 St Matthew's CofE 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 | 63% | 55% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 78% | 57.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 71% | 60.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 416 |
| 2023/24 | 461 |
| 2024/25 | 459 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Matthew's CofE Primary School compares
St Matthew's CofE Primary School ranked 19th of 84 primary schools in Sandwell for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 68% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 83% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 71% | 4% | 41.9% | 470 | — |
| Victoria Park Primary | 58% | 6.6% | 40.1% | 604 | 0.2 miles |
| St Philip's Catholic Primary School | 50% | 5.4% | 36.9% | 209 | 0.3 miles |
| Cape Primary School | 47% | 5.2% | 45.7% | 488 | 0.3 miles |
| Shireland Hall Primary Academy | 69% | 4.3% | 30.3% | 661 | 0.4 miles |
| Shireland Technology Primary | 75% | 4.5% | 37.8% | 440 | 0.6 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 41.93%
- English as an additional language
- 64.7%
- Overall absence
- 4.03%
- Persistent absence
- 8.99%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Victoria Park Primary0.2 miles
Primary · Smethwick
-
St Philip's Catholic Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Smethwick
-
Cape Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Smethwick
-
Shireland Hall Primary Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Smethwick
-
Shireland Technology Primary0.6 miles
Primary · Smethwick
Other schools in Smethwick
St Matthew's CofE Primary School ranks 4th of the 15 ranked primary schools in Smethwick.
- Abbey Infant School Primary
- Abbey Junior School Primary
- Annie Lennard Primary School Primary
- Bearwood Primary School Primary
- Cape Primary School Primary
- Crocketts Community Primary School Primary
- Devonshire Infant Academy Primary
- Devonshire Junior Academy Primary
- Galton Valley Primary School Primary
- George Betts Primary Academy Primary
- Shireland Hall Primary Academy Primary
- Shireland Technology Primary Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Matthew's CofE Primary School teach?
- St Matthew's CofE Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Smethwick.
- Who is the headteacher of St Matthew's CofE Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Matthew's CofE Primary School is Mrs Fiona Deakin, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Matthew's CofE Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Matthew's CofE 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 many pupils are at St Matthew's CofE Primary School?
- St Matthew's CofE Primary School has 470 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Matthew's CofE Primary School full?
- St Matthew's CofE Primary School has capacity for 464 pupils and 470 on roll (101%), so it is at or above 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 St Matthew's CofE Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Matthew's CofE Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Birmingham.
- Does St Matthew's CofE Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Matthew's CofE Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have St Matthew's CofE Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 63% in 2022/23 and 71% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Matthew's CofE Primary School compare with other schools in Sandwell?
- St Matthew's CofE Primary School ranked 19th of 84 primary schools in Sandwell for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 68% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 83% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Matthew's CofE Primary School's absence rate?
- St Matthew's CofE Primary School's overall absence rate is 4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Matthew's CofE Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Matthew's CofE 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.