Crabbs Cross Academy, Redditch
Crabbs Cross Academy is a primary school for pupils aged 5 to 9 in Redditch, part of Shires Multi Academy Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in July 2015. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in September 2024 did not change this grade. It was 66% full in 2025.
- Ofsted
- Good (2015)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Worcestershire (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Crabbs Cross Academy in detail
Crabbs Cross Academy in its own words
From the headteacher's welcome: "I am delighted to be in the fortunate position of being the Headteacher of Crabbs Cross Academy. There has been a school on the site since 1877 and we are proud of our school's long history."
Coming up: an open day on Friday 13 November 2026 and an open day on Wednesday 9 December 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.
All school open days in Worcestershire
Headteacher's welcome (school website)Open days on the school's site (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Getting a place at Crabbs Cross Academy
For September 2026 entry, 18 families put Crabbs Cross Academy as their first choice and 38 named it as one of their preferences, for 21 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Crabbs Cross Academy are The Vaynor First School (0.7 miles, Good); Woodrow First School (1 mile, Good); St Luke's CofE First School (1.1 miles); and Astwood Bank Primary School (1.2 miles, Good, 79% reading, 87% maths).
The Vaynor First SchoolWoodrow First SchoolSt Luke's CofE First SchoolAstwood Bank Primary School
The trust
Crabbs Cross Academy is one of 11 schools run by Shires Multi Academy Trust, an academy trust.
What parents say
62 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Crabbs Cross Academy (as of September 2025): 84% would recommend the school, 87% say their child is happy there and 56% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (90%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (56%).
Who goes there
9.1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (84%) and Mixed (5%).
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Redditch Rail Station, about 1.8 miles away in a straight line.
15 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Crabbs Cross Post Office (opposite), 100 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Crabbs Cross Academy issued 16 suspensions, 8 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Crabbs Cross Academy are St Augustine's Catholic High School (0.4 miles), Walkwood Church of England Middle School (0.7 miles), Tudor Grange Academy Redditch (1.4 miles) and Woodfield Academy (1.4 miles).
St Augustine's Catholic High SchoolWalkwood Church of England Middle SchoolTudor Grange Academy RedditchWoodfield Academy
Sources: DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from July 2015, 11 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils enjoy the time they spend together at this caring, happy school. They feel safe and are confident to speak to adults if they are worried about anything. The school promotes positive values, with pupils and adults treating one another with respect.
Pupils study a broad range of subjects. They take part in many activities and tasks in lessons, which they find memorable. However, the school has not ensured that the curriculum is taught consistently well in all subjects. This means that pupils are not yet making the progress that the school expects.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The school has experienced considerable challenges as a direct result of the pandemic, resulting in significant changes in staffing. The quality of education provided by the school has been negatively impacted by this situation. The school has identified the need to improve the effectiveness of the way that the curriculum is taught, to ensure that pupils make better progress. However, there is much more work to do to ensure that pupils know and remember the knowledge that the school expects.
The school has revised elements of the curriculum in most subjects. This work has included making changes in the approach to teaching reading. Phonics is taught right from the start of Reception Year, when children quickly settle into routines and benefit from daily phonics lessons. A love of reading is promoted in all year groups. The school's priority focus on teaching reading is helping to ensure that pupils become better readers over time.
From Ofsted's September 2024 ungraded inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its July 2015 inspection - up from Inadequate.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
26.1%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
62 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Class Sizes
23.6
Avg class size
22.8
Infant (KS1)
24.7
KS2
7
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Crabbs Cross Academy
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Crabbs Cross Academy.
- Funzone at the Windmill Centre620m away · Not yet graded
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Crabbs Cross Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Crabbs Cross Academy is in Worcestershire; for families living there:
Apply to Worcestershire for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 13
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 4
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 13 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 4 serious and 9 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Worcestershire is 5.5 (the median across 276 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Crabbs Cross Academy
Will you get a place at Crabbs Cross Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Crabbs Cross Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Crabbs Cross Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Crabbs Cross Academy.
- Worcestershire publishes last distance offered figures, but none for Crabbs Cross Academy that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Crabbs Cross Academy for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Worcestershire got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
66%
Available places
199 pupils
300 places
101 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Redditch
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Redditch
Across Worcestershire council
Places available
6,801
Applications
5,492
Got 1st preference
94.0%
Got preferred school
99.0%
All primary applications across Worcestershire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
29
SEN Support
7
EHC Plans
21.8%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
165
Total Pupils
80
Boys
85
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
11
Teachers
15.0:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£51,922
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,425
Per pupil
£1230k
Total funding
£64k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
5.1%
Overall absence
11.8%
Persistent absence
170
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Questions parents ask about Crabbs Cross Academy
What is Crabbs Cross Academy's Ofsted rating?
Crabbs Cross Academy's most recent Ofsted inspection, in September 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in July 2015, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Crabbs Cross Academy?
No fixed boundary. When Crabbs Cross Academy is oversubscribed, Worcestershire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Crabbs Cross Academy?
Crabbs Cross Academy was not full in 2025: it ran at 66% of its 300 places.
How big are the classes at Crabbs Cross Academy?
Classes at Crabbs Cross Academy average 23.6 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Crabbs Cross Academy?
Crabbs Cross Academy has around 165 pupils on roll. 26% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Crabbs Cross Academy?
5.1% of sessions were missed at Crabbs Cross Academy in 2024/25. 11.8% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Crabbs Cross Academy?
Apply through Worcestershire's coordinated admissions process, naming Crabbs Cross Academy on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
Does Crabbs Cross Academy have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club within a kilometre of Crabbs Cross Academy: Funzone at the Windmill Centre (620m away, registered, not yet graded). The school may also run its own clubs, which don't have to register with Ofsted.
How many road collisions happen near Crabbs Cross Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 13 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 4 serious and 9 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Worcestershire is 5.5 (the median across 276 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Crabbs Cross Academy?
Crabbs Cross Academy is at Evesham Road, Crabbs Cross, Redditch, Worcestershire, B97 5JH.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)