Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is a small primary that has moved from requiring improvement at its previous inspection to being good across all graded areas. Pupils are happy, polite and safe, behave well in lessons and at playtimes, and respond positively to staff’s high expectations. The school offers a broad and ambitious curriculum, strong early years provision, effective support for pupils with SEND, and a wide range of enrichment through trips, visitors, clubs and residential experiences. Safeguarding is effective, and governors provide appropriate support and challenge. The main areas for improvement relate to curriculum clarity in a few subjects and consistency in early reading. In some subjects, leaders have not made the key concepts explicit to staff, so pupils do not always link new learning to prior knowledge. The phonics programme is established and staff check pupils’ understanding, but it is not always taught using the agreed approaches, and some pupils practise with books containing sounds they cannot yet decode, which slows their progress towards fluency. Overall, this is a caring and effective school with notable strengths in early years, SEND support, personal development and enrichment. The areas needing attention are specific and do not undermine the generally good quality of provision.

Strengths

• Broad and ambitious curriculum that interests pupils
• Strong early years provision that helps children become confident and independent
• Pupils with SEND have needs quickly identified and effective support put in place
• Reading is prioritised, with an updated library and daily story reading
• Pupils behave well and are polite, kind and hard-working
• Personal development prepares pupils well for life beyond school
• Enrichment includes carefully planned trips, visitors, clubs and residential visits
• Governors know the school well and provide appropriate support and challenge
• Staff enjoy working at the school and benefit from federation opportunities
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In a few subjects, key concepts are not made clear to staff, so pupils struggle to link new learning with prior learning
• Phonics is not always taught using the agreed approaches
• Some pupils practise reading books containing sounds they cannot yet decode, hampering fluency development

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 Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School attended 92.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.2% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided 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 Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School had 14.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 20.3% of pupils at Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 16.9% 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 Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School received £10,452 and spent £10,774 for each of its 59 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £68,000 (£1,150 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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What is Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is Good, from an inspection in April 2025.

When was Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School was last inspected in April 2025.

How many pupils does Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School have?

Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School has 59 pupils on roll.

What age range does Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School cover?

Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 13% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School?

Carleton Rode Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is at Church Road, Carleton Rode, Norwich, Norfolk, NR16 1RW.