Moorlands CofE Primary Academy

Moorlands CofE Primary Academy is a friendly, calm and inclusive school where pupils feel safe, respected and well supported. Inspection findings are consistently positive across the curriculum, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years. Pupils benefit from high expectations and a well-sequenced, ambitious curriculum, and they achieve particularly well in early reading. The school ensures pupils with SEND can access the full curriculum, and its personal development offer helps pupils understand empathy, diversity and different faiths. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main area for improvement is that, in some subjects, teachers do not consistently use information from checks on learning to adapt their teaching. This means pupils occasionally miss opportunities to revisit knowledge or deepen their understanding. Some pupils also do not attend as often as they should, although the school works closely with families to overcome barriers. Leaders, including trust leaders, have an accurate view of strengths and priorities, and staff feel well supported with workload and well-being. The school is part of the Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust and is federated with Peterhouse Church of England Primary Academy.

Strengths

• Pupils are polite, welcoming and respectful, creating a friendly and calm school community
• Pupils feel safe and listened to, and staff know them well
• High expectations are embedded across all aspects of school life
• Pupils achieve well, particularly in early reading
• The curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced
• Teachers model and explain new concepts clearly and provide suitable practice
• Early reading is intensive and successful, helping many pupils become confident and fluent readers
• Pupils with SEND are supported to access the full curriculum
• Early years activities use stories, songs, rhymes and discussion well to build vocabulary and understanding
• Behaviour is calm and orderly, with consistent and fair routines
• Personal development is strong, including work on empathy, diversity and different faiths
• Leaders have an accurate understanding of strengths and priorities
• Staff feel supported with workload and well-being
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, teachers do not consistently use information from checks on learning to adapt their teaching
• Pupils occasionally miss opportunities to revisit knowledge or deepen their understanding
• Some pupils do not attend school as often as they should

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 Moorlands CofE Primary Academy attended 94.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.9% 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, 1.7% of pupils at Moorlands CofE Primary 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 Moorlands CofE Primary Academy had 23.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 9.9% of pupils at Moorlands CofE Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.2% 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 2022–23 Moorlands CofE Primary Academy received £5,954 and spent £6,273 for each of its 288 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £10,000 (£36 per pupil).

Across all 22 schools of The Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust, income was £7,929 and spending £8,559 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 Great Yarmouth · Norfolk local authority: places and applications

Moorlands CofE Primary Academy is part of The Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust, which runs 40 schools. The nearest others:

• Peterhouse CofE Primary Academy Great Yarmouth
• Hopton Church of England Primary Academy Great Yarmouth
• Gillingham St Michael's Church of England Primary Academy Beccles
• Kessingland Church of England Primary Academy Lowestoft
• Ditchingham Church of England Primary Academy Bungay
• Earsham Church of England Primary Academy Nr Bungay
• The Open Academy Norwich
• St Peter's CofE Primary Academy, Easton Norwich
• Cawston Church of England Primary Academy Norwich
• Great Witchingham Church of England Primary Academy Norwich

What is Moorlands CofE Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Moorlands CofE Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Moorlands CofE Primary Academy was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Moorlands CofE Primary Academy have?

Moorlands CofE Primary Academy has 282 pupils on roll.

What age range does Moorlands CofE Primary Academy cover?

Moorlands CofE Primary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 41% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Moorlands CofE Primary Academy?

Moorlands CofE Primary Academy is at Moorland Way, Belton, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 9PA.