Somersham Primary School

Somersham Primary School has made significant progress since its last inspection, moving from a grade of Requires Improvement to Good. Overall, the school provides a positive environment where pupils enjoy learning and demonstrate good behavior. The strong leadership, particularly under the executive headteacher, has contributed to this improvement, fostering a culture of support and well-being for both pupils and staff. Parents appreciate the nurturing environment, and most report satisfaction with behavior and safety at the school, despite a small number expressing concerns about bullying which is acknowledged to be rare and managed adequately when it occurs.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy their learning and demonstrate enthusiasm for their lessons.
• Strong leadership and governance have positively impacted school improvement.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• The curriculum includes a variety of exciting activities and experiences for pupils.
• Improvements in reading and effective phonics teaching have enhanced pupil achievement.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistencies in the writing curriculum's implementation across the school.
• Teachers need to raise expectations regarding the presentation of pupils' work.
• Curriculum plans sometimes fail to deepen pupils' historical knowledge.
• Pupils' understanding of cultural diversity requires further 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 Somersham Primary School attended 96.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.5% 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 Somersham 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 Somersham Primary School had 15.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 36.4% 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, 23.6% of pupils at Somersham Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.2% 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 Somersham Primary School received £9,521 and spent £9,610 for each of its 72 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £45,000 (£630 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 Ipswich · Suffolk local authority: places and applications

What is Somersham Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Somersham Primary School is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Somersham Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Somersham Primary School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Somersham Primary School have?

Somersham Primary School has 72 pupils on roll.

What age range does Somersham Primary School cover?

Somersham Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Somersham Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 56% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Somersham Primary School?

Somersham Primary School is at Church Lane, Lower Somersham, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP8 4PN.