Abbey Junior School

Sandwell · B67 5LT

General information Junior School · 7-11 years Who goes here 357 pupils, 22.1% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted and results

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 7% on SEN support Behaviour 3.8% absence rate Staff 22.9% turnover Financials £6,883 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

We haven't asked this school for its behaviour and staffing figures yet. Sign up to tell us you'd like them, and we'll email you when they arrive.

Notify me

Your email address

Leave this empty

We'll email you a link to confirm first. Your address is only used for news about this school, and every email has a link to stop them. Privacy

Abbey Junior School

General Information

Address: Barclay Road, Smethwick, B67 5LT – View on map
Phone: 01214292700
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Dr Richard Kentish
Age range: 7-11 years
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

357 pupils out of 360 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 79
% eligible for free school meals: 22.1%
Pupil mix: 8 in 10 (similar to the Sandwell average)
English as an additional language: 16% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 22.9% a year (Sandwell 14%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 71% moved to another school, 29% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Sandwell: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 6 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 4 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Sandwell, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 3.8%
Persistently absent pupils: 6.6%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 7.0%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.0%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Moderate learning difficulty: 17 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 2 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 1 pupil
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 2 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
Hearing impairment: 1 pupil
Physical disability: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

Be the first to review — win £100 of books for your school Every honest review enters you into our prize draw

Behaviour

–

Openness

–

Teaching Quality

–

School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

–

SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

–

Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

–

Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

No overall grade given 2025 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted stopped giving single overall grades for a period between September 2024 and November 2025 - this school's most recent inspection falls in that window, so there's no single rating to show, even though it was inspected. The full report (linked below) still has the detail.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 74% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 5% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 13 percentage points above the Sandwell average (61%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 66% against an expected 67%)
3-year average (expected standard): 66%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 77% · Writing 80% · Maths 83% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 74%
Average test scores: reading 106, maths 106
Based on: 82 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolSandwell averageEngland↗ Improving Up 13 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 13 percentage points above the Sandwell average (61%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 13th of 84 junior and primary schools in the area

=11Shireland Technology Primary75%
=11Tameside Primary Academy75%
=13Abbey Junior School74%
=13Whitecrest Primary School74%
=15Brandhall Primary School73%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Timbertree Academy86%
=2Corngreaves Academy83%
=2Grove Vale Primary School83%
=2St John Bosco Catholic Primary School83%
#5Langley Primary School81%
=6George Betts Primary Academy80%
=6Grace Mary Primary School80%
#8Moat Farm Junior School78%
=9Ocker Hill Academy77%
=9Ryders Green Primary School77%
=11Shireland Technology Primary75%
=11Tameside Primary Academy75%
=13Abbey Junior School74%
=13Whitecrest Primary School74%
=15Brandhall Primary School73%
=15Springfield Primary School73%
=15St John's Church of England Primary Academy73%
#18Old Hill Primary School72%
=19Devonshire Junior Academy71%
=19Galton Valley Primary School71%
=19St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School71%
=19St Matthew's CofE Primary School71%
=23Joseph Turner Primary School70%
=23King George V Primary School70%
=25Shireland Hall Primary Academy69%
=25St Pauls Church of England Academy69%
=27Oakham Primary School68%
=27Old Park Primary School68%
=29Great Bridge Primary School67%
=29Hamstead Primary School67%
=29Jubilee Park Academy67%
=32Ferndale Primary School66%
=32Hargate Primary School66%
=32Wednesbury Oak Academy66%
#35Crocketts Community Primary School65%
=36Bearwood Primary School64%
=36Holy Trinity CofE Primary School64%
=38Blackheath Primary School63%
=38Harvills Hawthorn Primary School63%
=38Lightwoods Primary Academy63%
=38Lyng Primary School63%
=38The Priory Primary School63%
=43All Saints CofE Primary School62%
=43Annie Lennard Primary School62%
=43Perryfields Primary School62%
=43Tividale Community Primary School62%
#47Lodge Primary School61%
=48Burnt Tree Primary School60%
=48Holyhead Primary Academy60%
=48Wood Green Junior School60%
=51Sacred Heart Primary School59%
=51St James CofE Primary School59%
=51Tividale Hall Primary School59%
=54Causeway Green Primary School58%
=54Highfields Primary School58%
=54Victoria Park Primary58%
=57Hateley Heath Academy57%
=57St Gregory's Catholic Primary School57%
=57Tipton Green Junior School57%
=60Moorlands Primary School55%
=60Uplands Manor Primary School and Nursery55%
#62Eaton Valley Primary School54%
=63Hall Green Primary School53%
=63Park Hill Primary School53%
=65Pennyhill Primary School52%
=65St Martin's CofE Primary School52%
=65St Mary's Catholic Primary School52%
#68Rounds Green Primary School51%
=69Hanbury Primary School50%
=69Our Lady and St Hubert's Catholic Primary School50%
=69Rood End Primary School50%
=69St Philip's Catholic Primary School50%
=69Summerhill Primary Academy50%
=69Yew Tree Primary School50%
=75Bleakhouse Primary School48%
=75Newtown Primary School48%
=75St Margaret's CofE Primary School48%
=78Brickhouse Primary School47%
=78Cape Primary School47%
=80Glebefields Primary School46%
=80Mesty Croft Primary46%
#82Reddal Hill Primary School43%
#83St Mary Magdalene CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School42%
#84Temple Meadow Primary School41%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,883 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

4th of 6 junior schools in Sandwell for spending per pupil

#2Wood Green Junior School£7,310
#3Tipton Green Junior School£7,038
#4Abbey Junior School£6,883
#5Moat Farm Junior School£6,692
#6Devonshire Junior Academy£6,333

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Ocker Hill Academy£7,331
#2Wood Green Junior School£7,310
#3Tipton Green Junior School£7,038
#4Abbey Junior School£6,883
#5Moat Farm Junior School£6,692
#6Devonshire Junior Academy£6,333

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

Have you rated Abbey Junior School yet? Your experience helps other parents.

Rate this school