School Chooser

Beacon Academy

Primary · ages 2-11MixedAcademy488 pupilsNursery Free breakfast clubWalsall
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredThere isn't enough published data yet. To get a score, a school needs results or an inspection plus at least one other figure.
OfstedOutstandingLast Ofsted inspection, February 2024
Reached the expected level at 1177%England 63%
Attendance93.2%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families50%Far more than most schools
PlacesFull488 pupils, 485 places
Pupils per teacher17.2School workforce census

Beacon Academy is a converter academy in Walsall for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. It has 488 pupils, 3 more than it has places for. About 50 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was outstanding, back in 2024.

Davis Road, New Invention, Walsall, WV12 5HA01922 710874beacon.lhmat.comHeadteacher Claire Chandler headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 27 February 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Outstanding overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Outstanding
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Outstanding
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Outstanding
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Outstanding
Early years
Outstanding
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes
Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
10 November 2022UngradedSchool remains Good (Improving) - S5 Next

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

60 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. These are the results of Beacon Primary School, the school this one replaced.

Reached the expected level at 1177%
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 score105.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score106.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 58%58%20172018: 86%86%20182019: 88%88%20192023: 78%78%20232024: 72%72%20242025: 77%77%2025
Since 2017: +19%
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure2025†2024†2023†2019†2018†2017†WalsallEngland
Pupils tested606158503743
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths77%72%78%88%86%58%62%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths8%7%2%10%11%9%7%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score105.0104.0104.0107.0109.0103.0105.2105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score106.0105.0103.0109.0111.0103.0104.3104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score106.0104.0103.0110.0108.0103.0105.7105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard78%79%84%92%95%74%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard87%85%83%94%97%77%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)82%82%81%90%89%88%
Reading progressReading progress score+0.9+2.3+5.9+3.5
Maths progressMaths progress score+0.5+4.2+8.3+2.6
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged69%75%61%86%84%57%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged90%68%96%93%92%59%

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.

† These results are for Beacon Primary School, the school this one replaced in September 2025. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

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 4 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
69%90%
Gap 21 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
66%87%
Gap 21 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
71%77%
Gap 6 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
10%8%
Gap 2 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.

Will my child get a place?

In 2026 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.

We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.

How places were given out for September 2026. Every child who applied got a place (54 offers for 60 places). 53 families put it down as their first choice and 53 of them got in (100%).

EntryPlacesPut it firstApplied at allGot a placeFirst choices who got inHow far the last child livedSource
2026 Primary60538154100%all offeredLA

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll488Census January 2026
Places485101% full
Pupils from low-income families42%50% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English16%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support14%66 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%15 pupils with a plan
Average class size24.918 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils6%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)45%£285,200 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls237 / 251
White British pupils68%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 25.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 25.9 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (29), Moderate learning difficulty (26), emotional and mental health (11), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (4), Autistic spectrum disorder (3), Specific learning difficulty (3).

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.2% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance93.2%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school19.1%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Missed without permission2.8%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/25†2023/24†2022/23†2021/22†2020/21†2018/19†England
Sessions missedOverall absence6.8%6.8%9.4%9.4%4.9%5.2%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.9%3.8%6.3%5.2%2.8%3.3%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence2.8%2.9%3.1%4.2%2.1%1.9%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence19.1%20.9%31.6%32.7%15.0%17.7%12.8%

† These attendance figures are for Beacon Primary School, the school this one replaced in September 2025. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Staff and money

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

Teachers26.0full-time equivalent, 26 people
Pupils per teacher17.2Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers96%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants21.1full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£48,192
Vacancies0

Money

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

Spend per pupil£7,681England £7,738. Total £3.5m
Income per pupil£8,072England £7,697. Total £3.7m
Spent on teachers per pupil£4,090England £3,480
Money in reserve11%A healthy amount put by: £418k, £914 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£179kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£7,681spent 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 m33912 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate53 per 1,000 people42% lower than the England average
Typical house price£221,288Walsall

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
New Invention Learning AcademyAcademy700 m362Report card 202694Compare
New Invention Infant SchoolCouncil700 m320Report card 202621Compare
Woodlands Academy of LearningAcademy0.6 miles446Good 202357Compare
St Alban's Church of England Primary AcademyAcademy0.7 miles191Good 202321Compare
Busill Jones Primary SchoolAcademy0.8 miles235Report card 20268Compare
Jubilee Academy MossleyAcademy0.8 miles170No overall grade 202436Compare
Oak Meadow Primary SchoolAcademy0.8 miles412Report card 202697Compare
Abbey Primary SchoolAcademy0.8 miles223Not inspectedCompare

Questions parents ask

Is Beacon Academy a good school?

Beacon Academy doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it outstanding at its last inspection in February 2024.

What is Beacon Academy's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Beacon Academy outstanding at its last full inspection on 27 February 2024.

How good are Beacon Academy's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 77% 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 Beacon Academy have?

488 pupils aged 2 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 485 places, so it is 101% full.

What is attendance like at Beacon Academy?

Pupils were in school 93.2% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 19% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Beacon Academy?

The average class had 24.9 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 6% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

Does Beacon Academy have a breakfast club?

Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.

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

Contact and details

Address
Davis Road, New Invention, Walsall, WV12 5HA
Telephone
01922 710874
Website
www.beacon.lhmat.com
Headteacher
Headteacher Claire Chandler
Free breakfast club
Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 2-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Lighthouse Multi Academy Trust (9 schools)
Local authority
Walsall
Ward
Willenhall North
Constituency
Wolverhampton North East
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 September 2025 (academy converter)
URN
151995 · LAESTAB 3352247 · UKPRN 10098544
Formerly
Beacon Primary School

Where these figures come from