Shirley Heath Junior School

About Shirley Heath Junior School

Shirley Heath Junior School sits within the Solihull local authority, a borough with 59 primary schools where only five currently hold an Ofsted Outstanding rating. The school itself is one of that select group, having been judged Outstanding in its most recent graded inspection in September 2024. In the local rankings based on the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, it places 27th out of 42 schools in Solihull. The top-performing peers in the area are St Alphege Church of England Junior School, Monkspath Junior and Infant School, and Knowle Church of England Primary Academy, all of which score higher on this particular metric. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is Tudor Grange Primary Academy, St James, just 0.8 kilometres away. Shirley Heath is a state primary for mixed genders, catering for children aged 7 to 11, with a current roll of 418 pupils against a capacity of 420. Headteacher Kara Evans leads a school where 18.4 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals.

Academically, the school's Key Stage 2 results for the 2023/24 academic year show that 62 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. This sits slightly below the Solihull local authority average of 67 per cent. Looking at individual subjects, reading had the highest expected standard attainment at 87 per cent, followed by maths at 76 per cent and writing at 73 per cent. At the higher standard, 11 per cent of pupils achieved the higher benchmark across all three subjects. In reading, the average scaled score was 107, and in maths it was 105. The school's ranking nationally places it in the bottom 50 per cent of primary schools on the expected standard measure, at the 52nd percentile. Ofsted's inspection breakdown awarded the highest possible grade of 1 (Outstanding) across all four assessed areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. The school has held an Outstanding rating consistently since its previous inspection in 2012.

The school offers a range of facilities including an ICT suite, library, sports hall, outdoor playground, sensory room and a chapel. Sports provision covers netball, cricket, tennis, rounders and cross country, while clubs extend to gardening, drama, choir, science club, book club and coding. SEND support is available for a broad spectrum of needs, including specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, hearing impairment, physical disability and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent View responses from 89 parents between September 2024 and September 2025 show that 89 per cent would recommend the school. Strong agreement was highest for the statement that their child can take part in clubs and activities, at 62 per cent, and that their child feels safe, also at 62 per cent. However, SEND support drew a more mixed response, with 30 per cent strongly agreeing and 25 per cent disagreeing. The school is oversubscribed with just two spare places, so families should plan applications carefully.

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