St Mary's Church of England Junior Academy

St Mary’s Church of England Junior Academy is a happy, calm and caring school where pupils enjoy lessons and are exceptionally well supported. Leaders have made substantial improvements since the previous inspection, including with a new headteacher and significant staff changes, and staff are now well trained to teach the curriculum. Pupils’ achievement is improving, behaviour is exceptionally strong, and pupils are very well prepared for life in modern Britain through a wide range of enrichment and community activities.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, calm and exceptionally well cared for.
• Teachers explain learning clearly and support pupils who get stuck.
• Leaders have raised expectations and improved curriculum achievement.
• Staff are well trained to teach the curriculum.
• Support for pupils with SEND is highly effective and inclusive.
• Behaviour expectations are very high and applied consistently.
• Suspensions have significantly reduced and attendance continues to improve.
• Pupils are exceptionally accepting and considerate of one another.
• Reading is taught effectively and most pupils become avid readers.
• Enrichment activities are abundant and help pupils live out school values.
• Pupils are exceptionally well prepared for life in modern Britain.
• Governance is diligent and staff are proud to work at the school.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In a few subjects, teachers move too quickly through content, limiting pupils’ depth of understanding and skills proficiency.
• Recent improvements are not yet fully evident in the school’s most recent published outcomes.

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 St Mary's Church of England Junior Academy attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.3% 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, 10.1% of pupils at St Mary's Church of England Junior Academy 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 St Mary's Church of England Junior Academy had 18.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 33.3% 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, 27.7% of pupils at St Mary's Church of England Junior Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 10.1% 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 2024–25 St Mary's Church of England Junior Academy received £7,509 and spent £7,650 for each of its 159 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £73,000 (£460 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of The Diocese of Norwich St Benet'S Multi-Academy Trust, income was £9,471 and spending £9,419 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Norwich · Norfolk local authority: places and applications

St Mary's Church of England Junior Academy is part of The Diocese of Norwich St Benet'S Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 19 schools. The nearest others:

• Tacolneston Church of England Primary Academy Norwich
• Newton Flotman Church of England Primary Academy Norwich
• Pulham Church of England Primary Academy Diss
• Alburgh With Denton Church of England Primary Academy Harleston
• Dickleburgh Church of England Primary Academy (With Pre-School) Diss
• The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School) Harleston
• Scole Church of England Primary Academy Diss
• Morley Church of England Primary Academy Wymondham
• Diss Infant Academy and Nursery Diss
• Diss Church of England Junior Academy Diss

What is St Mary's Church of England Junior Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Mary's Church of England Junior Academy is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was St Mary's Church of England Junior Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Mary's Church of England Junior Academy was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does St Mary's Church of England Junior Academy have?

St Mary's Church of England Junior Academy has 148 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Mary's Church of England Junior Academy cover?

St Mary's Church of England Junior Academy for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are St Mary's Church of England Junior Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

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

Where is St Mary's Church of England Junior Academy?

St Mary's Church of England Junior Academy is at Swan Lane, Long Stratton, Norwich, Norfolk, NR15 2UY.