Horning Community Primary School

Horning Community Primary School is a small, inclusive primary in the AIM Federation where pupils are known as individuals and feel safe, cared for and a strong sense of belonging. Inspectors found the school meets expected standards across achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development, with safeguarding met. Leaders have high expectations and have recently reviewed an ambitious curriculum suited to mixed-age classes, and pupils generally progress well from their starting points, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. The school's strengths include a calm and purposeful environment, positive relationships, effective reading and phonics, strong early years provision, and a rich personal development offer. Pupils behave well, bullying is very rare, and they benefit from clubs, trips, community events and leadership roles. Leaders and governors know the school well and provide appropriate support and challenge, and staff feel supported. The main areas for development are writing and task design. Some pupils, especially older pupils, do not develop writing skills as quickly as they could, and a few do not consistently write with accuracy. Task design is not always precise enough to challenge all pupils or match their needs, and some activities do not consistently give pupils opportunities to rehearse and apply prior learning. Leaders should continue strengthening adaptations for pupils with SEND and embedding consistent writing teaching across subjects. Published data also shows disadvantaged pupil outcomes below national averages and absence above national averages in 2024/25, though leaders are working to improve attendance.

Strengths

• High expectations and bespoke support help pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, progress well from their starting points.
• The recently reviewed curriculum is ambitious, suited to mixed-age classes, and builds cumulatively on prior learning.
• Effective reading and phonics teaching, with targeted support helping pupils catch up quickly.
• Pupils enjoy school, feel a strong sense of belonging, and benefit from warm relationships with staff.
• The school is calm and purposeful, with clear routines and high expectations that pupils understand.
• Pupils are kind, caring and cooperative, and bullying is very rare and dealt with swiftly.
• The early years curriculum is detailed and ambitious, providing a strong foundation for future learning.
• Staff build positive relationships with children and focus well on language and communication development.
• Leaders identify barriers to learning early and work with families and professionals to adapt provision effectively.
• Pupil premium funding is used well to ensure disadvantaged pupils access clubs, trips and enrichment experiences.
• Governance is experienced and knowledgeable, providing appropriate support and challenge to leaders.
• A rich personal development programme includes clubs, trips, community cafés and leadership roles that build confidence and citizenship.
• Pupils are well prepared for secondary school and become confident learners and communicators.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils, especially older pupils, do not develop writing skills as quickly as they could, and a few do not consistently write with accuracy.
• Task design is not always precise enough to ensure all pupils are consistently challenged or working at the appropriate level.
• Some activities do not consistently provide purposeful opportunities for pupils to rehearse and apply prior learning, so progress can be slower.
• Leaders need to continue strengthening teachers' confidence in adapting learning for pupils with SEND so their needs are consistently met.
• Published outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in reading, writing and mathematics are below national averages.
• Overall absence and persistent absence were above national averages in 2024/25.

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 Horning Community Primary School attended 91.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.7% 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, 4.5% of pupils at Horning Community 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 Horning Community Primary School had 16.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 81.1% 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, 25.0% of pupils at Horning Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.5% 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.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Norwich (North Norfolk) · Norfolk local authority: places and applications

What is Horning Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Horning Community Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Horning Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Horning Community Primary School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Horning Community Primary School have?

Horning Community Primary School has 44 pupils on roll.

What age range does Horning Community Primary School cover?

Horning Community Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

Where is Horning Community Primary School?

Horning Community Primary School is at School Road, Horning, Norwich, Norfolk, NR12 8PX.