Harpley CofE VC Primary School

Type Primary / Voluntary controlled school
Age Range 4-11
Religion Church of England
Address School Lane
Harpley
King's Lynn
Norfolk
PE31 6DY
Phone 01485520274
Reference Number 121092

Harpley CofE VC Primary School has made strides in fostering a positive environment for pupils, evidenced by improvements in attendance and a strong commitment to safeguarding. While the school is showing signs of progress in academic achievement, it faces significant challenges, with too few pupils reaching the expected standards in core subjects such as reading, writing, and mathematics. The school benefits from an inclusive approach, particularly for vulnerable students, and offers a well-rounded personal development program that prepares pupils for life beyond school. Despite recent improvements, the school acknowledges that there remains much work to be done in ensuring consistent delivery of the curriculum and addressing gaps in pupil knowledge. Leadership has provided stability during a period of change, but the effectiveness of governance and staff training needs to be strengthened to secure the necessary improvements for raising pupil achievement. Various initiatives are underway to enhance teaching practices and engage pupils more effectively in their learning journeys.

General Makeup

Number of pupils 56
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 53.57%
Girls: 46.43%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 21.4%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 1.8%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 18.7
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 12
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 32

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 2 2 4
2 3 6 9
3 5 2 7
4 5 5 10
5 5 4 9
6 1 5 6

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 94.6%
White, Other 1.8%
Unclassified 1.8%
Irish 1.8%

Overall Ofsted Rating Needs attention
 >  Leadership & Governance Needs attention
 >  Personal Development & Wellbeing Expected standard
 >  Achievement Needs attention
 >  Attendance & Behaviour Expected standard
 >  Curriculum & Teaching Needs attention
 >  Inclusion Expected standard
Last Report Date 13 Jan 2026
Date Report
13 Jan 2026 School inspection
15 Jul 2021 School inspection
07 Jun 2016 Short inspection
28 Mar 2014 Interim assessment
14 Feb 2011 Full inspection
25 Apr 2008 Full inspection
27 Apr 2004 Full inspection

Strengths

  • Strong commitment to safeguarding
  • Effective attendance monitoring and improvement strategies
  • Positive behavior management leading to rare incidents of poor behavior
  • Inclusion is a strength, with strong support for pupils with SEND
  • Broad personal development program preparing pupils for life beyond school

Areas for Improvement

  • Too few pupils achieving expected standards in reading, writing, and mathematics
  • Inconsistencies in curriculum delivery across subjects
  • Gaps in key knowledge among older pupils not being addressed in a timely manner
  • Governors providing insufficient challenge to improve school leadership

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 33%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 0%

Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Subject School Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 100
Maths 100

How many students meet the standards

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Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

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Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

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2025 Admissions

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 2 0
Third Preference 3 0
From another Local Authority 0 0

Previous Years

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Name Distance
Great Massingham CofE Primary School
Weasenham Road, Great Massingham, King's Lynn, Norfolk, PE32 2EY
2.13 miles
Rudham CofE Primary Academy
School Road, East Rudham, King's Lynn, Norfolk, PE31 8RF
2.64 miles
Flitcham Church of England Primary Academy
Church Road, Flitcham, King's Lynn, Norfolk, PE31 6BU
3.79 miles
Name Distance
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