St Andrew's CofE VA Primary School, Lopham

St Andrew's CofE VA Primary School, Lopham is a very small Church of England primary school in The Saints Federation, with 15 pupils on roll and no Reception Year at the time of inspection. Inspectors found the school to be working at the expected standard across achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Safeguarding standards are met. Pupils are happy, feel safe and behave exceptionally well; they read widely and well, benefit from an ambitious curriculum, and are supported effectively, including pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils. Leaders have a clear vision and use the federation well to improve provision and broaden pupils' experiences. Teaching is typically strong, phonics is effective, and personal development prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain. However, published outcomes have historically been weaker in writing and mathematics, and some pupils have gaps or misconceptions, particularly in mathematics. Teaching checks on understanding are not always precise enough to identify and fix these gaps, and writing does not always reflect the depth of pupils' verbal understanding. The school's next steps focus on improving teachers' expertise in using assessment to address mathematical misconceptions, strengthening writing so pupils produce deeper responses, and continuing work to secure even higher attendance. Overall, this is a caring and effective school with strong behaviour, inclusion and leadership, but with clear areas for continued improvement in outcomes and teaching precision.

Strengths

• Pupils' behaviour is excellent, with focused, respectful and productive classrooms.
• Bullying is exceptionally rare and pupils value positive relationships and inclusion.
• Pupils read well and develop a passion for books; phonics teaching is effective.
• The curriculum is ambitious, broad and logically sequenced across subjects.
• Pupils with SEND are accurately identified and well supported to access learning and progress.
• Disadvantaged pupils are well supported through pupil premium funding and wider opportunities.
• Leadership and governance are strong, with clear vision, effective federation working and robust accountability.
• Personal development is well designed, including RSHE, British values, diversity and enrichment.
• Staff feel well supported with workload, professional development and work-life balance.
• Attendance is close to the national average, with close monitoring and swift intervention.

Areas for Improvement

• Published outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics combined have been below the national average in recent years.
• Teacher-assessed writing outcomes and mathematics outcomes have been below the national average.
• Some pupils' writing focuses on surface features and does not reflect the depth of their verbal understanding.
• Some pupils have gaps in mathematical knowledge and embedded misconceptions that hinder problem-solving.
• Teaching checks on pupils' understanding, particularly in mathematics, can lack precision.
• Disadvantaged pupils' writing gap remains wide compared with non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.
• Leaders should continue their strategies to secure even higher rates of attendance.

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 2023–24 pupils at St Andrew's CofE VA Primary School, Lopham attended 94.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.5%). 21.6% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 14.6%).

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 2023–24, 0.0% of pupils at St Andrew's CofE VA Primary School, Lopham were suspended at least once (nationally 1.0%). 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 2023–24 St Andrew's CofE VA Primary School, Lopham had 4.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.8). Of its teachers in 2023–24, 63.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 17.1%).

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.

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What is St Andrew's CofE VA Primary School, Lopham's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Andrew's CofE VA Primary School, Lopham is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was St Andrew's CofE VA Primary School, Lopham last inspected by Ofsted?

St Andrew's CofE VA Primary School, Lopham was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does St Andrew's CofE VA Primary School, Lopham have?

St Andrew's CofE VA Primary School, Lopham has 12 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Andrew's CofE VA Primary School, Lopham cover?

St Andrew's CofE VA Primary School, Lopham for pupils aged 4 to 11.

Where is St Andrew's CofE VA Primary School, Lopham?

St Andrew's CofE VA Primary School, Lopham is at The Street, North Lopham, The Street, Diss, Norfolk, IP22 2LR.