Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is a small village school that was judged good across all key areas at its January 2025 inspection. It has a strong community and family feel, and pastoral support is a notable strength: pupils feel safe, relationships with adults are strong, and behaviour around school is positive. The curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced for mixed-age classes, children get a strong start in early years, attendance has improved significantly, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school also has a well-established early reading curriculum and accurately identifies and supports pupils with SEND. The main areas for improvement relate to consistency in teaching. Some staff are still developing their expertise in delivering the phonics programme, which means some pupils do not learn to read as quickly as they could. In some wider curriculum subjects, core knowledge and vocabulary are not always prioritised clearly enough, and occasional activities do not help pupils remember the intended content. The recently opened Nursery provision is also still developing, particularly in helping children build independence. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has recently begun catering for three-year-olds through its new Nursery. The governing body is closely involved and provides strong support and challenge, while staff feel valued and supported.

Strengths

• Strong pastoral support and a welcoming family feel at the heart of the community
• Pupils feel safe and know which adults they can talk to
• Pupils behave positively and classrooms are typically calm and orderly
• Ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum that accounts for mixed-age classes
• Children get a strong start in early years, with a firmly established Reception curriculum
• Well-established early reading curriculum with progress checks and support for pupils who fall behind
• Pupils with SEND are accurately identified and most have learning adapted successfully
• Attendance has improved significantly and is now celebrated and tackled promptly
• Strong personal development programme helps pupils understand cultures, safety and health
• Governance provides strong support and challenge, and staff feel valued
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Some staff are still developing expertise in delivering the phonics programme, so early reading teaching is not always as effective as it could be
• Some pupils do not learn to read as quickly as they could because of inconsistent phonics delivery
• In wider curriculum subjects, core knowledge and vocabulary are not always prioritised clearly enough
• Some activities do not help pupils learn and remember the intended curriculum content
• Some wider curriculum subjects are less developed than others
• Nursery provision is still developing to help children increase their independence

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 Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School attended 96.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.2% 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, 2.5% of pupils at Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled 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 Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School had 13.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.7% 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, 21.4% of pupils at Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.7% 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 Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School received £10,633 and spent £10,550 for each of its 68 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £16,000 (£236 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 Bury St Edmunds · Suffolk local authority: places and applications

What is Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is Good, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School have?

Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School has 70 pupils on roll.

What age range does Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School cover?

Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 50% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School?

Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is at Church Road, Barningham, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP31 1DD.