St Francis Catholic Primary School
Mill Road, Shelfield, Walsall, WS4 1RH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Miss Dawn Richards
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Birmingham
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Aldridge-Brownhills
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 207
- URN
- 104239
- Local authority
- Walsall
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01922682583
About this school
St Francis Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Walsall. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 207 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Francis Catholic 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. 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
- Good
- 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 | 32 | 32 | 27 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 75% | 75% | 67% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 9% | 16% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 88% | 84% | 78% |
| Expected standard in maths | 81% | 84% | 78% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 91% | 91% | 78% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 105.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 108.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.60 | - | - |
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 Francis Catholic 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 | Walsall average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 75% | 56.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 75% | 57.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 67% | 57.2% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 202 |
| 2023/24 | 206 |
| 2024/25 | 212 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Francis Catholic Primary School compares
St Francis Catholic Primary School ranked 27th of 61 primary schools in Walsall for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 67% | 5.8% | 34.9% | 207 | — |
| Greenfield Primary School | 34% | 7.2% | 44% | 244 | 0.3 miles |
| Rushall Primary School | — | — | — | 260 | 0.5 miles |
| Radleys Primary School | 45% | 5.6% | 40.4% | 223 | 0.7 miles |
| St Michael's Church of England C Primary School | 72% | 4.2% | 12.1% | 460 | 1.0 miles |
| St John's Church of England Primary School | 64% | 5.3% | 28.3% | 340 | 1.2 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)
- 34.9%
- English as an additional language
- 21.2%
- Overall absence
- 5.77%
- Persistent absence
- 14.84%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Greenfield Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Walsall
-
Rushall Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Walsall
-
Radleys Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Walsall
-
St Michael's Church of England C Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Walsall
-
St John's Church of England Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Walsall
Other schools in Walsall
St Francis Catholic Primary School ranks 19th of the 51 ranked primary schools in Walsall.
- Abbey Primary School Primary
- All Saints National Academy Primary
- Alumwell Infant School Primary
- Alumwell Junior School Primary
- Beacon Academy Primary
- Bentley West Primary School Primary
- Birchills Church of England Community Academy Primary
- Blue Coat Church of England Aided Infant School Primary
- Blue Coat Church of England Aided Junior School Primary
- Brownhills West Primary School Primary
- Busill Jones Primary School Primary
- Butts Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Francis Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Francis Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Walsall.
- Who is the headteacher of St Francis Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Francis Catholic Primary School is Miss Dawn Richards, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Francis Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Francis Catholic 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 Francis Catholic Primary School?
- St Francis Catholic Primary School has 207 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Francis Catholic Primary School full?
- St Francis Catholic Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 207 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St Francis Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Francis Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
- Does St Francis Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Francis Catholic Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have St Francis Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 75% in 2022/23 and 67% 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 Francis Catholic Primary School compare with other schools in Walsall?
- St Francis Catholic Primary School ranked 27th of 61 primary schools in Walsall for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% 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 Francis Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Francis Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Francis Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Francis Catholic 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.