Lodge Primary School

A primary school in Charlemont, West Bromwich, with a clear local role and a straightforward, practical offer for families who want a settled, well organised start from Nursery through Year 6. Recent official monitoring describes a calm, purposeful feel and confirms that safeguarding arrangements are effective, while also setting out a small number of improvement priorities, particularly around early years outdoor learning and consistency in the wider curriculum.

On published Key Stage 2 measures, the 2025 dataset is more mixed: 60% meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, and 10% reach the higher standard. In FindMySchool’s ranking (based on official data), the school sits 10,464th out of 14,978 in England for primary academic outcomes and 12th in West Bromwich in the local hub, which places the ranking profile below the national midpoint while still showing some subject-level strengths.

Leadership is currently under Headteacher Tahirah Khatun. The name is consistent across the school website, Ofsted documentation, and the government’s official records register.

This is a mainstream community primary that presents itself as child-centred, with the tone set clearly on the school’s own materials. The website foregrounds a family-oriented approach and encourages prospective parents to arrange a visit rather than relying on glossy messaging. It also shows a school that invests in public-facing routines, such as clubs, pupil leadership roles, and regular communication through events and updates.

The latest official inspection record is an ungraded inspection from 29 to 30 April 2025, which reports that the school has taken effective action to maintain standards identified at the previous inspection. This matters because it suggests continuity in what parents can expect day-to-day, rather than a school in the middle of a fundamental reset.

Pastoral culture is also visible in how safeguarding roles are laid out publicly. The safeguarding team page lists a safeguarding manager (DSL) and a broad group of deputy designated safeguarding leads, including senior leaders and operational staff, which is often a sign of a school that treats safeguarding as an organisation-wide responsibility rather than a single-person function.

A distinctive feature here is the way the school frames inclusion and equality. The 2025 inspection report references work that supports pupils’ understanding of diversity and equality, and the school’s own British Values content describes how assemblies, its PSHE Life Skills curriculum, and explicit British Values lessons are used to revisit concepts annually.

The headline story at Key Stage 2

In the 2025 dataset, 60% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics combined. At the higher standard, 10% of pupils achieved the higher standard in reading, writing and maths. These are the two figures most parents care about when comparing primary schools at scale because they describe both breadth of secure attainment and depth at the top end. (FindMySchool data, based on official results.)

Reading, maths and grammar, punctuation and spelling (GPS) scaled scores are also reported as 103 for reading, 104 for maths, and 103 for GPS. Scaled scores are best read as a “how far above or below 100” indicator, with 100 representing the expected standard. These figures point to a broadly secure cohort, with maths slightly stronger. (FindMySchool data, based on official results.)

Science is one area to read with care in the published set. The proportion reaching the expected standard in science is 70% in the 2025 dataset. That does not imply weak science teaching, but it does suggest that parents should ask how science knowledge is sequenced and revisited, particularly for pupils who need more repetition to retain key concepts. (FindMySchool data, based on official results.)

Rankings context

Ranked 10,464th out of 14,978 in England for primary academic outcomes and 12th in West Bromwich in the local hub, this sits below the national midpoint on academic rank (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data). The useful interpretation is not “good or bad” in isolation, but that outcomes can look different by measure. For families comparing options locally, it is worth looking at both the combined expected standard and the higher standard, then checking how consistent those outcomes have been over time.

Parents using FindMySchool can also use the local hub comparison tools to line up the school’s KS2 profile against nearby options, rather than relying on a single headline judgement.

The school’s curriculum pages give a clear sense of intent across subjects, with an emphasis on accessibility, outcomes for all pupils, and building knowledge over time. English is presented as the “foundation” of the curriculum, delivered through themes and topics, and the wider subject set is described for curiosity, creativity, and developing confident learners.

A few specifics stand out:

• Computing is framed around digital literacy and readiness for the future, which is increasingly important even at primary level as schools balance online safety with practical skills.

• French is explicitly included, with the intent described as exposing pupils to language and culture.

• PSHE is described as a bespoke “Lodge PSHE Life Skills” curriculum, and the British Values section expands on how this is threaded through assemblies and lessons, with pupils revisiting ideas annually.

• Religious Education is described as multi-faith in approach, which fits with the school’s stated aim to reflect a diverse community.

The most helpful “ask” for parents, given the 2025 inspection improvement points, is how leaders ensure teachers identify and address gaps in knowledge in subjects outside English and maths, and how they tighten the clarity of intended learning in early years outdoor activities. Those are specific, practical issues that can be probed in a conversation with staff.

As a 3 to 11 primary, the main transition is into Year 7. The school does not publish a destination list for secondary schools in the material reviewed, and in Sandwell the pattern for Year 7 transfer depends heavily on family address, the coordinated admissions process, and parental preference.

What the school can usefully do, and what parents should ask about, is transition practice. Typical good practice includes preparation around independence and organisation in Year 6, information sharing with receiving schools, and specific support for pupils with additional needs. If your child has SEND support in place, ask how the school coordinates handover with the receiving secondary and what the timeline looks like.

For families considering a move into the area, the practical step is to shortlist likely secondaries, then use FindMySchool’s Map Search to sanity-check travel time and the real-world logistics of drop-off and collection, especially if siblings may end up at different schools over time.

Reception entry and oversubscription

The school follows Sandwell’s coordinated admissions process for Reception. The school’s own admissions page signposts parents directly to the local authority route.

From the admissions data, Reception demand exceeds places: 49 applications for 35 offers, a ratio of 1.4 applications per offer, and the route is recorded as oversubscribed in the relevant year of data. (FindMySchool data.)

Reception admissions timing

Sandwell publishes the on-time application deadline for each Reception entry year through its coordinated admissions timetable, so families should check the live calendar before applying.

Sandwell also publishes Reception offer-day details in its annual coordinated admissions timetable, usually in mid-April.

For families looking ahead a year, the pattern is consistent: applications typically open in September and close mid-January, with offers in mid-April. Always check Sandwell’s current admissions page for the live dates before relying on a prior year’s calendar.

Nursery entry

The school has nursery provision (age range begins at 3), and its “School Organisation” information states a 26 place nursery for 52 part-time pupils.

Nursery application routes can vary by school and local authority. If you are applying for Nursery rather than Reception, confirm whether the application is direct to the school or through the local authority, and ask what the pathway into Reception looks like for existing nursery children.

Pastoral systems are easiest to judge when you can see how the school talks about safety, relationships, and pupil voice.

• Safeguarding is described as effective in the most recent Ofsted documentation, and the school publicly lists a safeguarding manager and deputy leads across roles.

• Pupil leadership and voice are visible through structures like School Council, described as elected and involved in school priorities and decisions, including areas such as resources and school development.

• Wider safety and personal development is referenced through curriculum-linked initiatives such as Bikeability and first aid training, and through online safety work in computing and an annual e-safety week.

A practical parent question, especially for children who are anxious or who need consistent routines, is how behaviour expectations are taught, reinforced, and communicated to families. The British Values page points to a positive behaviour policy and clear consequences, which is the right starting point for that discussion.

This is an area where Lodge offers concrete, named examples rather than generic claims, which is genuinely useful when you are picturing your child’s weekly routine.

Clubs and enrichment

The school publishes a structured clubs timetable alongside its wraparound provision. The current list includes:

• Cricket Club (for different year groups across the week)

• Arts and Crafts (Years 1 and 2)

• Origami Club (Years 4 and 5)

• Lodge Voices (Years 1, 2 and 3)

• Netball (Years 4, 5 and 6)

• Art club (Years 4, 5 and 6)

The point here is not that every child will do every club, but that the menu includes both sport and creative options with clear age targeting. For quieter pupils, something like Origami Club or Lodge Voices can be a more comfortable “first club” than competitive sport, while still building friendships and routine.

Events that show the school’s flavour

The events feed adds helpful texture about what the school prioritises. Examples include:

• A library launch with poetry workshops and a visiting poet

• A TT Rockstars and Numberbots “concert” style maths event

• A Year 6 visit to Wolverhampton University focused on aspirations and campus experience

• An outdoor reading area introduced to support reading for pleasure

• A choir performance at a local care setting, linking school music with community connection

For parents, these specifics are a good sign because they show the school building experiences around reading, numeracy, arts, and aspiration, rather than treating trips and events as an optional extra.

Nursery and early years experiences

The school’s published timings show Nursery is organised into morning and afternoon sessions, which typically suits families balancing childcare patterns and part-time places. Nursery sessions are shown as 8:30am to 11:30am and 12:10pm to 3:10pm.

A key question, informed by the 2025 inspection improvement point, is how staff plan and structure learning in the outdoor area, particularly for adult-led and independent activities, so that children gain new knowledge and skills rather than repeating familiar play patterns.

School day and timings

For Reception to Year 6, published timings show:

• Doors open: 8:45am

• School starts: 8:55am

• Morning session ends: 12:15pm

• Afternoon session begins: 1:15pm

• School ends: 3:15pm

Wraparound and clubs

Breakfast club is listed as opening at 8:00am, with the latest arrival by 8:25am. After-school clubs are listed as 3:20pm to 4:20pm. Both breakfast club and after-school clubs are shown as £1 per session.

Getting there

For day-to-day practicality, it is worth doing a trial run at peak times if you are considering a move, particularly if you would be walking with younger children or coordinating nursery and primary drop-off.

• Early years outdoor learning clarity. The latest inspection highlights that intended learning in some outdoor early years activities is not always clear, which can mean children gain less new knowledge from those activities. Ask what has changed since April 2025, and how staff plan and review outdoor provision.

• Curriculum consistency beyond core. The same report notes that, in some wider curriculum lessons, gaps in pupils’ knowledge are not consistently identified and addressed. For parents, the practical question is how subject leaders check what pupils remember over time, especially in foundation subjects.

• Oversubscription without a published distance guide. Reception demand is higher than places in the admissions data available, but there is no last-distance figure here to indicate how tight proximity needs to be. Families should treat allocation as competitive and check Sandwell’s criteria carefully for their circumstances. (FindMySchool data; distance figure not available.)

• Wraparound scope. Breakfast club starts at 8:00am and after-school clubs run to 4:20pm, which may not cover the full working day for some families. If you need later childcare, confirm what alternatives exist locally and whether any extended provision beyond clubs is available.

Lodge Primary School looks like a practical, community-focused primary with a clear structure to the school day, a published clubs timetable that includes both creative and sporting options, and a more mixed current Key Stage 2 profile: 60% meet the combined expected standard and 10% reach the higher standard in the 2025 dataset.

It will suit families who value a straightforward, well signposted primary offer, want access to clubs, and are looking for a structured primary where the current attainment picture should be read across several measures. The main decision points are admissions competitiveness and how confidently the school is now addressing the specific improvement priorities identified in April 2025, especially in early years outdoor learning and consistency in foundation subjects.