Fairstead Community Primary and Nursery School

Fairstead Community Primary and Nursery School is a warm, nurturing and friendly school where pupils feel safe, behave well and are extremely respectful. All key judgements are good, and the previous inspection grade was also good. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and inspectors took the pandemic's impact into account. The school provides a broad and ambitious curriculum from the early years, and reading is a clear priority. Phonics is taught consistently well, pupils with SEND are identified quickly and make strong progress, and personal development prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain. Leadership is effective, governors are well informed, parents are positive, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main areas for improvement are that in a few subjects key knowledge and vocabulary are not clearly identified or revisited enough, which can leave gaps in pupils' knowledge. Some pupils do not attend as well as they should. In 2024, Year 6 pupils did not achieve as well as they should in writing and mathematics, but this was affected by a transient population and past staffing instability, and the school has since taken effective action with a stable staff team and better systems for identifying and addressing gaps.

Strengths

• Warm, nurturing and friendly school where pupils feel safe and respected
• Pupils are extremely respectful and celebrate each other's differences
• Most pupils behave well and respond quickly to staff reminders
• Broad and ambitious curriculum from the early years that builds on prior knowledge
• Staff have strong subject knowledge and present information clearly
• Reading is a priority, with consistently well-taught phonics and good support
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and make strong progress
• Personal development programme prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain
• Staff workload and well-being are considered, and governors challenge effectively
• Parents are positive about the school and safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In a few subjects, key knowledge and vocabulary are not clearly identified, so staff do not revisit them enough and some pupils develop gaps
• Some pupils do not attend as well as they should
• Year 6 pupils in 2024 did not achieve as well as they should in writing and mathematics, although recent actions are addressing this

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 Fairstead Community Primary and Nursery School attended 94.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.2% 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, 5.3% of pupils at Fairstead Community Primary and Nursery School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 3 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 Fairstead Community Primary and Nursery School had 20.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.0% 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, 13.5% of pupils at Fairstead Community Primary and Nursery School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.3% 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 Fairstead Community Primary and Nursery School received £7,406 and spent £7,417 for each of its 415 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £109,000 (£263 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 King'S Lynn · Norfolk local authority: places and applications

What is Fairstead Community Primary and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Fairstead Community Primary and Nursery School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Fairstead Community Primary and Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

Fairstead Community Primary and Nursery School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Fairstead Community Primary and Nursery School have?

Fairstead Community Primary and Nursery School has 429 pupils on roll.

What age range does Fairstead Community Primary and Nursery School cover?

Fairstead Community Primary and Nursery School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Fairstead Community Primary and Nursery School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 42% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Fairstead Community Primary and Nursery School?

Fairstead Community Primary and Nursery School is at William Booth Road, Fairstead, King's Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 4RR.