Small Heath is much larger than the average-sized secondary school. Almost all students are from minority ethnic backgrounds, with most students of Pakistani or Bangladeshi heritage. Over 90% of students speak English as an additional language. There are more boys than girls in every year group; in some years 60% of students are boys. At nearly 60%, the proportion of disadvantaged students for whom the school receives the pupil premium (additional funding for particular groups, which in this school applies to students who are known to be eligible for free school meals and the very few looked after by the local authority) is very high compared to the national average. Compared with the national average, the proportion of disabled students and those who have special educational needs is high. The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for the attainment and progress of students by the end of Year 11. The school hosts a specially resourced provision for disabled students and those with special educational needs. This Hearing Impaired Resource Base is shared with Bordesley Green Girls School and managed by the local authority. There are currently two students from each year group in the base. The school operates across two sites. Year 12 and some Year 13 students were on study leave during the inspection. No students are currently educated in alternative provision on other sites. The current headteacher has been in post since September 2014, following the retirement of the school’s previous long-serving headteacher. Since the end of the last academic year, three other senior leaders have left the school. A new deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher have joined the school since September 2014.