When should a child begin to train, and why the old fear was wrong
Most parents think lifting weights is dangerous for children. Twenty years of paediatric consensus disagree, and the reason has more to do with the nervous system than with muscle.
Smethwick · Sandwell
Devonshire Infant Academy
Academy converter · ages 3–7 · 349 pupils
Part of VICTORIA ACADEMIES TRUST
27% free school meals
Year 6 results
Reading, writing and maths
This school's pupils leave before Year 6, so it has no Year 6 results. Look up the junior school most of its pupils move on to.
Inspection
What Ofsted found
Not judged overall, report published 11/03/2025
Ofsted stopped giving a single overall grade in 2024 and moved to report cards in November 2025. Older grades and new report cards aren't directly comparable.
The local area
Children in Sandwell
| Measure | Sandwell | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good level of development at the end of Reception 2024/25 lower | 61.8% | 68.3% |
| Phonics check met in Year 1 2024/25 lower | 78.1% | 79.8% |
| Year 6 children living with obesity 2024/25 higher | 30.7% | 22.2% |
| MMR two doses by age 5 2024/25 lower | 79.2% | 83.7% |
| Primary pupils persistently absent 2024/25 higher | 15.5% | 13.0% |
| Children in relative low-income families (under 16) 2024/25 higher | 35.5% | 19.8% |
“Higher” or “lower” means the difference from England is bigger than the margin of error; “similar” means it isn’t. These are figures for all children in the council area, not for any one school or child.