Merstone School
Merstone School is a council special school in Birmingham for boys and girls aged 2 to 19. It has 166 pupils and every place is taken. About 63 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted visited in March 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.
Windward Way, Smith's Wood, Birmingham, B36 0UE0121 717 1040merstone.solihull.sch.ukMr Kieran Ryan-Grealish headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted visited on 24 March 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.
Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 27 September 2023 | Ungraded | School remains Outstanding (Concerns) - S5 Next |
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
10 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
The government hasn't published this school's headline results. Fewer than eleven pupils sat the exams, so the figures could identify individual children.
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
10 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | Solihull | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 10 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 5 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – | 69% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – | 13% | 8% |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – | – | – |
| Reading progressReading progress score | – | – | – | -0.4 | – | – | – | – |
| Maths progressMaths progress score | – | – | – | -1.5 | – | – | – | – |
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.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
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 Solihull council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
What parents say
From Ofsted's Parent View survey: 33 parents answered in the year to 6 April 2026. Parents choose whether to fill it in, and many only do so when an inspection is coming, so don't read too much into small differences. The England figures are the average for all schools with enough answers to publish.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Solihull with profound and multiple learning difficulties provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Severe learning difficulty (63), Autistic spectrum disorder (57), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (25), Other difficulty or disability (8), Moderate learning difficulty (4), language and communications needs (4).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 166 | 171 | 165 | 148 | 137 | 127 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 57% | 54% | 50% | 51% | 49% | 44% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 5% | 6% | 7% | 5% | 4% | 5% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 1% | 1% | 3% | 8% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 99% | 99% | 97% | 92% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 87.4% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 12.6% | 11.2% | 12.2% | 11.0% | 19.5% | 7.0% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 11.9% | 10.8% | 11.8% | 10.4% | 19.0% | 6.8% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 0.8% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.2% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 42.7% | 40.0% | 41.2% | 35.9% | 73.6% | 16.5% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 2.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 6 pupils who left in 2021/22 were a year later.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers | 2018/19 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Education | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
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
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 schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Oak School | Council | 0 m | 215 | Outstanding 2024 | – | Compare |
| Smith's Wood Academy | Academy | 160 m | 697 | Report card 2026 | 2 | Compare |
| St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School | Academy | 330 m | 200 | Good 2024 | 29 | Compare |
| Kingshurst Primary School | Academy | 370 m | 459 | Requires improvement 2023 | 7 | Compare |
| Smith's Wood Primary Academy | Academy | 550 m | 445 | Outstanding 2023 | 94 | Compare |
| St Anthony's Catholic Primary School | Academy | 800 m | 253 | Good 2022 | 79 | Compare |
| Yorkswood Primary School | Academy | 0.6 miles | 375 | Requires improvement 2022 | 2 | Compare |
| Guardian Angels Catholic Primary School | Academy | 0.7 miles | 196 | Good 2024 | 20 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Merstone School a good school?
Merstone School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted's report card from March 2026 rated its teaching as strong.
What is Merstone School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 24 March 2026 it rated teaching as strong, achievement as strong, behaviour and attendance as strong, leadership as strong.
How good are Merstone School's SATs results?
In summer 2025, 0% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.
How many pupils does Merstone School have?
166 pupils aged 2 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 166 places, so it is 100% full.
What is attendance like at Merstone School?
Pupils were in school 87.4% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 43% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
What do parents say about Merstone School?
91% of the 33 parents who answered Ofsted's Parent View survey would recommend it to other parents, and 91% say their child is happy there. Across England, 84% of parents would recommend their child's school.
Does Merstone School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Merstone School have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Windward Way, Smith's Wood, Birmingham, B36 0UE
- Telephone
- 0121 717 1040
- Website
- www.merstone.solihull.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Mr Kieran Ryan-Grealish
- Type of school
- Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 2-19, with nursery, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Solihull
- Ward
- Smith's Wood
- Constituency
- Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 104133 · LAESTAB 3347007 · UKPRN 10016914
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.