The Orchard School
The Orchard School is a council special school in Oldbury for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. It has 173 pupils. About 53 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2025, no overall grade.
Causeway Green Road, Oldbury, B68 8LD0121 569 7040orchard.sandwell.sch.ukMrs Elizabeth Hopewell headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 15 July 2025, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.
Results
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
29 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | Sandwell | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 29 | 19 | 30 | 19 | 15 | 23 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 62% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 7% | 8% |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – |
| Reading progressReading progress score | – | – | -5.1 | -2.6 | -3.4 | -0.8 | – | – |
| Maths progressMaths progress score | – | – | -5.4 | -2.1 | -1.6 | -0.9 | – | – |
| Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 0% | – | – |
| Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 0% | – | – |
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. Every gap at this school 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
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.
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 Sandwell council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Severe learning difficulty (133), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (40).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 173 | 151 | 146 | 147 | 145 | 144 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 53% | 54% | 49% | 47% | 44% | 38% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 24% | 25% | 23% | 21% | 22% | 29% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 86.7% 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 | 13.3% | 13.4% | 12.8% | 11.8% | 9.0% | 11.5% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 10.7% | 9.7% | 10.6% | 10.2% | 6.6% | 9.8% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 2.6% | 3.6% | 2.2% | 1.7% | 2.4% | 1.7% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 44.3% | 46.1% | 41.4% | 38.8% | 22.9% | 27.9% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
Staff
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Khair Primary School | Independent | 140 m | 70 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Langley Primary School | Council | 600 m | 440 | Good 2022 | 78 | Compare |
| Our Lady and St Hubert's Catholic Primary School | Academy | 670 m | 415 | No overall grade 2025 | 37 | Compare |
| Q3 Academy Langley | Academy | 690 m | 1,490 | Not inspected | 85 | Compare |
| Oldbury Academy | Academy | 790 m | 1,193 | Good 2021 | 31 | Compare |
| Causeway Green Primary School | Council | 880 m | 427 | Report card 2026 | 25 | Compare |
| Moat Farm Junior School | Academy | 880 m | 477 | Report card 2026 | 97 | Compare |
| Moat Farm Infant School | Academy | 880 m | 407 | Report card 2025 | 42 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is The Orchard School a good school?
The Orchard School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it not judged at its last inspection in July 2025.
What is The Orchard School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated The Orchard School not judged at its last full inspection on 15 July 2025.
How good are The Orchard 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.
How many pupils does The Orchard School have?
173 pupils aged 2 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026.
What is attendance like at The Orchard School?
Pupils were in school 86.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 44% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Causeway Green Road, Oldbury, B68 8LD
- Telephone
- 0121 569 7040
- Website
- www.orchard.sandwell.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Elizabeth Hopewell
- Type of school
- Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 2-11, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Sandwell
- Ward
- Langley
- Constituency
- Smethwick
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2000
- URN
- 132232 · LAESTAB 3337018 · UKPRN 10069448
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.
- 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.
- 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.