School Chooser

Barnfields Primary School

Primary · ages 3-11MixedAcademy399 pupilsNurseryStaffordStaffordshire
School Chooser Score
81
Above
similar schools
Likely range 67 to 89
Out of 100. Better than 52% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, June 2024
Reached the expected level at 1173%England 63%
Attendance96.4%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families6%Far fewer than most schools
Places21 spare399 pupils, 420 places
Pupils per teacher19.6School workforce census

Barnfields Primary School is a converter academy in Stafford for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 399 pupils and room for 420. About 6 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 81 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 52% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

Lansdowne Way, Wildwood, Stafford, ST17 4RD01785 337320barnfields.staffs.sch.ukMr Graham Ball headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 19 June 2024 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

62 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1173%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level8%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score107.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score107.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 66%66%20172018: 74%74%20182019: 82%82%20192023: 71%71%20232024: 78%78%20242025: 73%73%2025
Since 2017: +7%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017StaffordshireEngland
Pupils tested626462606159
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths73%78%71%82%74%66%66%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths8%14%11%15%10%8%8%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score107.0107.0108.0107.0106.0103.0105.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score107.0107.0107.0107.0106.0106.0104.8104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score109.0108.0106.0110.0107.0106.0105.8105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard87%81%87%95%79%71%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard89%89%87%90%84%81%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)82%81%81%87%87%80%
Reading progressReading progress score+1.9+0.6-0.7-3.5
Maths progressMaths progress score+0.5+0.7-0.8-1.0
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged67%33%58%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged74%83%78%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 1 of the 3 gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
67%74%
Gap 7 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
62%81%
Gap 19 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%8%
Gap 8 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Nearly full400 pupils for 420 places, 2024/25
95% full

Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have fallen by 4% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Staffordshire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll399Census January 2026
Places42095% full
Pupils from low-income families6%6% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English11%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support10%39 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan2%8 pupils with a plan
Average class size28.413 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils15%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)7%£40,300 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls183 / 216
White British pupils76%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 27.5 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 29.1 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (13), Specific learning difficulty (11), Autistic spectrum disorder (7), emotional and mental health (7), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (4), Moderate learning difficulty (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll399395411402414430
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals6%7%5%4%4%3%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language11%9%7%7%6%5%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support11%11%12%11%8%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans1%1%1%1%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.4% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance96.4%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school5.7%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.7%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence3.7%4.4%4.1%6.5%2.8%3.0%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.0%3.6%3.4%5.6%2.5%2.6%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.7%0.7%0.7%0.9%0.3%0.5%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence5.7%7.2%5.6%14.3%3.0%2.9%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.20.30.70.7
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers20.3full-time equivalent, 21 people
Pupils per teacher19.6Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants10.9full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£49,707
Teachers who left in the year6%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher3.02024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£5,142England £7,128. Total £2.0m
Income per pupil£5,896England £7,587. Total £2.3m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,919England £3,405
Money in reserve17%A healthy amount put by: £404k, £1,022 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£298kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£5,142spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m9712 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate30 per 1,000 people67% lower than the England average
Typical house price£255,000Stafford
Nearest bus stop170 mCo-op Store, 19 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Oakridge Primary SchoolCouncil640 m216No overall grade 202498Compare
St Anne's Catholic Primary SchoolAcademy770 m205Good 202384Compare
Leasowes Primary SchoolAcademy0.7 miles430Outstanding 202499Compare
Berkswich CofE (VC) Primary SchoolChurch of England0.8 miles214Outstanding 202497Compare
Silkmore Primary AcademyAcademy1.1 miles252Outstanding 202467Compare
St Leonard's Primary SchoolCouncil1.3 miles222No overall grade 202425Compare
Flash Ley Primary SchoolCouncil1.4 miles189Good 202362Compare
St Paul's Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy1.6 miles97Not inspectedCompare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Barnfields Primary School with the 48 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 48 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats52%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 81 is about the same as the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 35 · middle 79 · highest 100100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 81 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 81% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 67 to 89. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%above
+0.19
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 62 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 2.2 years old
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.11
DfE progress measure; 62 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
-0.01
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%well above
+0.11
2024/25; 354 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%in line
+0.02
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 62 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Barnfields Primary School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Barnfields Primary School scores 81 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 52% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 67 to 89, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Barnfields Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Barnfields Primary School good at its last full inspection on 19 June 2024.

How good are Barnfields Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 73% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 8% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Barnfields Primary School have?

399 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 420 places, so it is 95% full.

Is Barnfields Primary School oversubscribed?

Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.

What is attendance like at Barnfields Primary School?

Pupils were in school 96.4% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 6% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Barnfields Primary School?

The average class had 28.4 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 15% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Lansdowne Way, Wildwood, Stafford, ST17 4RD
Telephone
01785 337320
Website
www.barnfields.staffs.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mr Graham Ball
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
The South East Stafford Academy Trust (2 schools)
Local authority
Staffordshire
Ward
Weeping Cross & Wildwood
Constituency
Stafford
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 July 2016 (academy converter)
URN
142981 · LAESTAB 8602352 · UKPRN 10057138
Formerly
Barnfields Primary School

Where these figures come from