Corby Primary Academy

Corby Primary Academy is performing well across all areas inspected. This was its first routine inspection since the pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2015; the school is part of Greenwood Academies Trust, has a principal who joined in September 2024, and, under current arrangements, does not receive an overall effectiveness grade. Pupils are friendly, welcoming and enjoy school, attendance is high, and parents speak highly of the caring staff and clear communication. Pupils achieve well academically and develop the school’s values of respect, responsibility and resilience; pupils with SEND are well supported. The curriculum is ambitious and carefully sequenced, with trips and experiences that enhance learning, and recent improvements to writing and phonics are strengthening pupils’ skills. Reading is central, behaviour expectations have been raised with supportive routines, and pupils behave sensibly and respectfully. Personal development prepares pupils well for life beyond school, and leadership and trust arrangements are secure, with staff welcoming the clear vision, support and training. The main areas for improvement concern assessment and adaptation. Checks on pupils’ learning are inconsistent, errors and misconceptions are sometimes not addressed quickly enough, and teaching does not always move pupils on or deepen their learning when they are ready. In early years, staff sometimes do not check carefully enough that children gain the intended learning from activities, which can leave gaps.

Strengths

• Pupils are friendly and welcoming and enjoy school, with high attendance
• Parents speak highly of the caring, supportive staff and clear communication
• An ambitious, precisely sequenced curriculum is enhanced by complementary trips and experiences
• Recent writing curriculum improvements secure composition alongside handwriting and spelling
• Staff demonstrate secure subject knowledge and present new learning clearly
• Pupils revisit prior learning regularly and recall much of the curriculum confidently
• Pupils with SEND are well supported, with needs identified swiftly and appropriate adjustments made
• Reading is central to the curriculum and pupils enjoy daily story time
• Pupils typically achieve well in phonics and become fluent readers
• Raised behaviour expectations are supported by routines, and pupils behave sensibly and respectfully
• Personal, social and health education prepares pupils well for life beyond school
• Pupils understand British values, equality and mutual respect and reject discriminatory language
• Leadership and trust have a secure understanding of strengths and areas for improvement, and staff welcome support and training
• Pupils have opportunities to contribute to school life through roles such as librarians, councillors and house captains

Areas for Improvement

• Checks on pupils’ learning vary in effectiveness and are inconsistent
• Staff sometimes do not address pupils’ errors and misconceptions quickly enough
• Teaching does not always adapt swiftly when pupils are ready to move on or deepen their learning
• Learning activities can limit pupils’ thinking and depth of understanding
• In early years, staff sometimes do not check carefully enough that children gain the intended learning from activities
• Phonics teaching sometimes does not address pupils’ errors quickly enough

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 Corby Primary Academy attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.2% 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, 1.3% of pupils at Corby Primary Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Corby Primary Academy had 26.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 44.1% 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, 8.1% of pupils at Corby Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.7% 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 2024–25 Corby Primary Academy received £6,196 and spent £6,324 for each of its 462 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £519,000 (£1,123 per pupil).

Across all 37 schools of Greenwood Academies Trust, income was £8,670 and spending £8,578 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 Corby · North Northamptonshire local authority: places and applications

Corby Primary Academy is part of Greenwood Academies Trust, which runs 38 schools. The nearest others:

• Hazel Leys Academy Corby
• Kingswood Primary Academy Corby
• Danesholme Junior Academy Corby
• Danesholme Infant Academy Corby
• Kingswood Secondary Academy Corby
• Studfall Junior Academy Corby
• Studfall Infant Academy Corby
• Rushden Primary Academy Rushden
• Woodvale Primary Academy Northampton
• Sunnyside Primary Academy Northampton

What is Corby Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Corby Primary Academy is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Corby Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Corby Primary Academy was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Corby Primary Academy have?

Corby Primary Academy has 472 pupils on roll.

What age range does Corby Primary Academy cover?

Corby Primary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Corby Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Corby Primary Academy?

Corby Primary Academy is at Butland Road, Corby, Northamptonshire, NN18 8QA.