Alderman Payne Primary School

Alderman Payne Primary School is performing well overall, achieving a 'good' grade in its recent inspection. The school boasts a strong sense of community, with pupils expressing joy in attending and feeling safe. Behaviour is exemplary, and students actively engage in their learning, supported by a curriculum that is ambitious and well-structured to meet the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs. The school has integrated a variety of programs to help develop leadership skills among students, further enriching their education beyond academic achievements. However, the inspection did highlight some areas for improvement regarding assessment practices in certain subjects to identify and address learning gaps more effectively.

Strengths

• High standards of behaviour and attitudes among pupils
• Strong emphasis on reading and early literacy development
• Effective integration and support for pupils with special educational needs
• Well-structured and ambitious curriculum catering to mixed year classes
• Positive community feel with strong relationships among pupils and staff
• Active participation in extracurricular activities enhancing personal development

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment approaches in some subjects are not fully developed

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Alderman Payne Primary School attended 94.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 1.9% of pupils at Alderman Payne Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Alderman Payne Primary School had 18.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.7% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 20.0% of pupils at Alderman Payne Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Alderman Payne Primary School received £9,767 and spent £9,451 for each of its 100 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £152,000 (£1,522 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Wisbech · Cambridgeshire local authority: places and applications

What is Alderman Payne Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Alderman Payne Primary School is Good, from an inspection in May 2023.

When was Alderman Payne Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Alderman Payne Primary School was last inspected in May 2023.

How many pupils does Alderman Payne Primary School have?

Alderman Payne Primary School has 100 pupils on roll.

What age range does Alderman Payne Primary School cover?

Alderman Payne Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Alderman Payne Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Alderman Payne Primary School?

Alderman Payne Primary School is at 9, Main Road, Parson Drove, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, PE13 4JA.