Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School, Birmingham
Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 7 in Birmingham. It has a Church of England/Methodist religious character. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in May 2017. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in January 2023 did not change this grade. It was 72% full in 2025.
- Ofsted
- Good (2017)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- Below England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 80 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Birmingham (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School in detail
Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School in its own words
From the headteacher's welcome: "Bluebell has had the most amazing start to the school year. The children have settled well into their new classroom and have adapted to the routines brilliantly, even keeping the teachers on track by reminding them what they should be doing next!"
The school runs a breakfast club from 7:30am and after-school care.
Headteacher's welcome (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Getting a place at Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School
For September 2026 entry, 63 families put Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School as their first choice and 84 named it as one of their preferences, for 60 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 4 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School are Reaside Academy (0.4 miles, Good, 84% reading, 76% maths); Forestdale Primary School (0.6 miles, Good, 35% reading, 31% maths); Colmers Farm Primary School (0.8 miles, Good, 77% reading, 77% maths); and St James Catholic Primary School (0.9 miles, Outstanding, 100% reading, 100% maths).
Reaside AcademyForestdale Primary SchoolColmers Farm Primary SchoolSt James Catholic Primary School
Who goes there
66.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 49 pupils (26.3%) received SEN support and 14 (7.5%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is speech, language and communication needs.
Staffing
Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School had 11 teachers in 2026, one for every 13 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Longbridge Rail Station, about 1.6 miles away in a straight line.
10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Windsor Close (before), 140 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 195 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, criminal damage and arson and public order offences. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Birmingham (435).
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School issued 8 suspensions, 4.4 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School are King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy (under 0.1 miles), Colmers School and Sixth Form College (0.8 miles) and Waseley Hills High School (1.1 miles).
King Edward VI Balaam Wood AcademyColmers School and Sixth Form CollegeWaseley Hills High School
Sources: DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 4 years agoThis judgement is from May 2017, 9 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's January 2023 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
This is a delightful school where pupils flourish and do very well, especially children joining with barriers to learning. Teachers use assessment expertly to match work to each child's needs, and pupils with SEND receive exceptional support. The school creates a calm, orderly environment where kindness is valued and every child is celebrated.
Key Strengths
- Excellent behaviour and positive relationships throughout the school - pupils are polite, friendly and well-mannered
- Highly effective teaching of phonics and reading with pupils becoming fluent readers who enjoy daily reading
- Exceptional support for pupils with SEND including targeted intervention and the bespoke Blossom Room
- Well-designed ambitious curriculum with strong assessment practices that quickly identify and address learning gaps
- Strong personal development with a Christian ethos that teaches values like kindness and forgiveness throughout the school
Areas for Improvement
- In a small number of foundation subjects, the precise learning and skills pupils need to acquire are not as clearly identified as they should be, which can result in learning lacking depth
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with all staff highly trained to spot and report concerns, strong family relationships, and pupils able to name an adult they would talk to if worried.
Extracurricular Activities
After-school clubs, trips, excursions, visits, guest speakers
Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School continues to be a good school where care, nurture and love are at the heart of everything that happens. The school's motto 'We work as one, no child is left behind' reflects leaders' high expectations for every child.
At a Glance
66.1%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Class Sizes
27.6
Avg class size
28.3
Infant (KS1)
5
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School
Before and after school care
Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school. Source: Free breakfast clubs: schools on the programme, Department for Education Free breakfast clubs in Birmingham
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School.
- Little Monkeyz Prime TimeAt the school · Not yet graded
Term dates
Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School is a voluntary aided school, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Birmingham's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School is in Birmingham; for families living there:
- How to apply: Travel passes for 5 to 16 year olds
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 13
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 5
- Children hurt
- 3
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, 5 serious and 8 slight.
3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
6 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 Birmingham is 41 (the median across 517 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 Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School
Will you get a place at Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School.
- Birmingham publishes last distance offered figures, but none for Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Birmingham 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
72%
Available places
139 pupils
192 places
53 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Birmingham
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Birmingham
Across Birmingham council
Places available
15,375
Applications
12,117
Got 1st preference
92.1%
Got preferred school
99.0%
All primary applications across Birmingham council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History(9)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
49
SEN Support
14
EHC Plans
33.9%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
186
Total Pupils
105
Boys
81
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
11
Teachers
16.9:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£50,017
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,514
Per pupil
£1270k
Total funding
£142k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
7.3%
Overall absence
26.5%
Persistent absence
98
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
Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School
Questions parents ask about Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School
What is Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School's Ofsted rating?
Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in January 2023, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in May 2017, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School?
No fixed boundary. When Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School is oversubscribed, Birmingham allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School?
Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School was not full in 2025: it ran at 72% of its 192 places.
How big are the classes at Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School?
Classes at Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School average 27.6 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School?
Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School has around 186 pupils on roll. 66% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School?
7.3% of sessions were missed at Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School in 2024/25. 26.5% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School?
Apply through Birmingham's coordinated admissions process, naming Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School 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 Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School is on the Department for Education's free breakfast clubs programme (list updated July 2026), which pays for a free breakfast club for pupils before school. Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club at the school: Little Monkeyz Prime Time (registered, not yet graded).
How many road collisions happen near Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School?
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, 5 serious and 8 slight. 3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 2 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 6 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 Birmingham is 41 (the median across 517 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School?
Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School is at New Street, Rubery, Birmingham, West Midlands, B45 0EU.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)