Bury CofE Primary School

Bury CofE Primary School is performing well overall. Inspectors found a positive, can-do ethos in which pupils concentrate in lessons, support one another and learn the ambitious curriculum well. Pupils are polite and respectful, behave well, attend regularly and are prepared well for secondary school. Reading, early years provision and personal development are particular strengths, and safeguarding is effective. The school is part of the Diocese of Ely Multi-Academy Trust, and trustees and governors are closely involved in supporting and challenging leaders. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. The main area for improvement is support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Provision is typically effective and the school works with external agencies and parents, but staff do not always adapt learning activities carefully enough for some pupils with SEND, so those pupils do not learn as well as they could. Leaders should ensure staff have the guidance they need to make this adaptation consistently strong. Otherwise, leadership, behaviour, personal development and early years provision were all found to be strong, and staff morale is high.

Strengths

• Positive, can-do ethos with high expectations for focus and achievement
• Pupils are kind, polite, respectful and resolve disagreements sensibly
• Ambitious, logically sequenced curriculum that builds knowledge over time
• Well-trained staff with strong subject knowledge and effective checks on understanding
• Effective reading provision, including early reading and support for pupils who find reading tricky
• Clear behaviour routines and consistent application of the behaviour policy
• Strong personal development, including respect for difference, healthy relationships and emotional awareness
• Effective support for attendance, with improving attendance for pupils who find it hard
• Trustees and governors provide strong support and challenge and hold leaders to account
• High staff morale and a supportive team ethos with reasonable workload
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Staff do not always adapt learning activities well enough for some pupils with SEND

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 Bury CofE Primary School attended 96.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.0% 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, 1.0% of pupils at Bury CofE 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 Bury CofE Primary School had 22.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.9% 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, 16.4% of pupils at Bury CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.4% 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 Bury CofE Primary School received £6,529 and spent £5,059 for each of its 204 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £0 (£0 per pupil).

Across all 38 schools of Grace Schools, income was £7,113 and spending £6,207 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 Huntingdon · Cambridgeshire local authority: places and applications

Bury CofE Primary School is part of Grace Schools, which runs 38 schools. The nearest others:

• Holme CofE Primary School Peterborough
• Ermine Street Church Academy Alconbury Weald
• St John's CofE Primary School Huntingdon
• William de Yaxley Church of England Academy Peterborough
• Farcet CofE (C) Primary School Peterborough
• Stilton Church of England Primary Academy Peterborough
• Stanground St Johns CofE Primary School Peterborough
• Mepal and Witcham Church of England Primary School Ely
• St Botolph's Church of England Primary School Peterborough
• Pathfinder CofE Primary School Cambridge

What is Bury CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bury CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Bury CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bury CofE Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Bury CofE Primary School have?

Bury CofE Primary School has 207 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bury CofE Primary School cover?

Bury CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 81% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Bury CofE Primary School?

Bury CofE Primary School is at Owls End, Bury, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE26 2NJ.