Barrington CofE VC Primary School

Barrington CofE VC Primary School is a small, growing Church of England primary school. Inspectors found a happy, safe and nurturing environment where pupils attend regularly, behave well and feel confident that concerns are addressed. Safeguarding standards are met, and the school's personal development programme, pupil leadership opportunities and pastoral support are notable strengths. Leaders, governors and parents generally work constructively together, and staff report that workload and wellbeing are managed well. However, the school's core academic provision is not yet strong enough. Achievement in reading, writing and mathematics is below national expectations, with underdeveloped phonics, persistent gaps for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, and weaknesses in handwriting and spelling. Curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, and leadership and governance need attention: delivery is inconsistent, some explanations lack clarity, pupils with SEND are not consistently included in class learning, and early years interactions do not always extend children's vocabulary. Leaders recognise these issues and have plans in place, but the impact of improvement work is not yet evident. The report also notes important context: the school is growing, the number of disadvantaged pupils is increasing, and the headteacher has been in post since September 2024. The next steps focus on consistent curriculum design, assessment and classroom adaptation, high expectations for all pupils, high-quality early years interactions, and systematic checking of new initiatives.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture and pupils who feel safe.
• Attendance systems are effective, with overall attendance close to national averages and low persistent absence.
• High expectations for behaviour are supported by the embedded 'remind, rest, reflect and repair' approach.
• Pupils feel safe, bullying is rare, and incidents of unkindness are dealt with promptly.
• Personal development is strengthened by new school values and a well-planned PSHE curriculum.
• Pupils develop a secure understanding of diversity, difference and online safety.
• Pupil leadership is a growing strength, with expanded roles and a democratic school parliament.
• Pastoral support is highly effective, including targeted help for pupils with SEND and wellbeing initiatives.
• Pupils recall wider curriculum learning confidently, for example using scientific vocabulary accurately.
• Mathematics teaching models learning clearly and helps pupils reason and solve problems confidently.
• Early years transition arrangements are well planned and help children settle quickly.
• Staff are nurturing and build positive relationships with children in the early years.
• Governors fulfil their roles effectively, providing appropriate challenge and scrutiny.
• Staff report that leaders manage workload appropriately and support their wellbeing.
• Parents value leaders' transparent communication about school developments and challenges.
• Pupils are happy, safe and nurtured, and social times are calm and inclusive.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' achievement in reading, writing and mathematics is not as high as it should be.
• Some pupils' phonics knowledge remains underdeveloped, limiting independent reading.
• Gaps in learning persist for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Pupils' handwriting often lacks accuracy and fluency.
• Spelling is frequently inaccurate, and staff do not consistently identify and address errors.
• Curriculum delivery is inconsistent, limiting the impact of planning and sequencing.
• Teachers' explanations sometimes lack clarity, leading to confusion and incorrect responses.
• Some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, complete activities away from their peers and miss learning.
• Staff do not consistently adapt learning to remove barriers for pupils with SEND.
• Early years staff do not consistently provide high-quality interactions that deepen learning and extend vocabulary.
• Some early years activities lack a clear purpose and are not matched closely enough to children's needs.
• Inclusion work is at an early stage, and effective practice is not yet secure across the school.
• Targets for pupils with SEND are not precise enough to measure progress accurately.
• Improvement initiatives are not implemented consistently, and some actions have not secured improvements quickly enough.
• A small amount of low-level disruption occasionally reduces learning time.
• Attendance for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is slightly lower than for others.

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 Barrington CofE VC Primary School attended 94.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.3% 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, 0.6% of pupils at Barrington CofE VC 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 Barrington CofE VC Primary School had 18.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.5% 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, 12.6% of pupils at Barrington CofE VC Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.7% 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 Barrington CofE VC Primary School received £7,087 and spent £7,477 for each of its 174 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £84,000 (-£483 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).

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• Secondary Schools

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

What is Barrington CofE VC Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Barrington CofE VC Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Barrington CofE VC Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Barrington CofE VC Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Barrington CofE VC Primary School have?

Barrington CofE VC Primary School has 174 pupils on roll.

What age range does Barrington CofE VC Primary School cover?

Barrington CofE VC Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Barrington CofE VC Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 40% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Barrington CofE VC Primary School?

Barrington CofE VC Primary School is at Haslingfield Road, Barrington, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB22 7RG.