Birches First School

South Staffordshire · WV8 2JG

General information Primary School · 3-9 years Who goes here 175 pupils, 6.9% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN Resourced provision · 17.1% on SEN support Behaviour 4.2% absence rate Staff 15.2% turnover Financials £6,167 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Birches First School

General Information

Address: Birches Avenue, Codsall, WOLVERHAMPTON, WV8 2JG – View on map
Phone: 01902297910
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Miss Sabrina Varricchione
Age range: 3-9 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 28 families put it first for 29 places – 10 for every 10 places. 93% of them were offered a place. 8 of the 29 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 11 · 2025 13 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

175 pupils out of 150 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 12
% eligible for free school meals: 6.9%
Pupil mix: 4 in 10 (more mixed than the South Staffordshire average)
English as an additional language: 3% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 15.2% a year (South Staffordshire 15.6%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 44% moved to another school, 56% 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. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.

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 Staffordshire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 12 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 1
Suspensions for bullying: 8 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 1 (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 Staffordshire (the council area this school is in), 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: 4.2%
Persistently absent pupils: 9.0%
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

Resourced provision 150 places · 149 pupils at the last count

Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.

Pupils on SEN Support: 17.1%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.6%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Moderate learning difficulty: 12 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 12 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 1 pupil
Other difficulty or disability: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Moderate learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 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 –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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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.

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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.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2023 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Year 6 SATs results

Year 6 SATs results for this school haven't been added yet.

View full Ofsted inspection report

2nd of 23 primary schools in South Staffordshire for Ofsted rating

#1All Saints' CofE Primary SchoolGood
#2Birches First SchoolGood
#3Blakeley Heath Primary SchoolGood
#4Corbett VA CofE Primary SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1All Saints' CofE Primary SchoolGood
#2Birches First SchoolGood
#3Blakeley Heath Primary SchoolGood
#4Corbett VA CofE Primary SchoolGood
#5Featherstone AcademyGood
#6Glenthorne Community Primary SchoolGood
#7Havergal CofE (C) Primary SchoolGood
#8Lane Green First SchoolGood
#9Littleton Green Community SchoolGood
#10Marshbrook First SchoolGood
#11Perton First SchoolGood
#12Perton Primary AcademyGood
#13Princefield First SchoolGood
#14St Benedict Biscop CofE Primary SchoolGood
#15St John's CofE (C) Primary SchoolGood
#16St John's Primary AcademyGood
#17St Mary and St Chad CofE First SchoolGood
#18St Mary's CofE First AcademyGood
#19St Nicholas Church of England First SchoolGood
#20St Paul's CofE First SchoolGood
#21St Thomas More Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#22All Saints CofE Primary School, BednallRequires improvement
#23Westfield Primary SchoolRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,167 (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.

24th of 32 primary schools in South Staffordshire for spending per pupil

#22St Paul's CofE First School£6,255
#23Perton Primary Academy£6,215
#24Birches First School£6,167
#25St Mary and St Chad CofE First School£6,034
#26Featherstone Academy£6,025

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

#1All Saints CofE Primary School, Bednall£14,083
#2Corbett VA CofE Primary School£10,288
#3St John's CofE (C) Primary School£8,512
#4St Chad's CofE (VC) First School£8,443
#5St Mary's Catholic Primary School£8,291
#6St John's CofE First School£8,199
#7Perton First School£7,800
#8Glenthorne Community Primary School£7,601
#9St Mary's CofE First Academy£7,534
#10Landywood Primary School£7,390
#11Lane Green First School£7,299
#12Havergal CofE (C) Primary School£7,092
#13St Leonard's CofE First School£7,013
#14Blakeley Heath Primary School£6,940
#15Littleton Green Community School£6,926
#16St Michael's CofE (A) First School£6,815
#17Westfield Primary School£6,610
#18Moat Hall Primary Academy£6,560
#19All Saints' CofE Primary School£6,397
#20Marshbrook First School£6,369
#21St Christopher's Catholic Primary Academy£6,323
#22St Paul's CofE First School£6,255
#23Perton Primary Academy£6,215
#24Birches First School£6,167
#25St Mary and St Chad CofE First School£6,034
#26Featherstone Academy£6,025
#27Cheslyn Hay Primary Academy£6,022
#28St Nicholas Church of England First School£5,957
#29St Benedict Biscop CofE Primary School£5,797
#30Princefield First School£5,652
#31St Bartholomew's Church of England Primary School£5,316
#32St John's Primary Academy£5,199

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

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