Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School

Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School is a happy, caring school where pupils feel safe and belong. Inspectors found strong pastoral support, effective provision for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, good behaviour, and exceptional personal development. Reading is a particular strength, with early phonics taught well and a consistent approach to developing a love of reading. The school is well led and staff feel supported. Safeguarding is effective. However, the curriculum is not yet fully developed in a few foundation subjects, where content is too broad and key knowledge is not always clear. In some subjects, teachers do not use the school's checking and retrieval approach well enough to identify gaps and adapt tasks. Early years provision is good overall, but the pre-school curriculum is not carefully sequenced, and some independent activities leave learning to chance. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and it is a single academy trust that has had a change of headteacher since the last inspection. Personal development was judged outstanding, while quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and early years provision were judged good.

Strengths

• Exceptional pastoral support removes barriers to learning
• Highly effective support for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils
• Pupils feel happy and safe and behave well
• Personal development provision is exceptional and promotes tolerance and respect
• Strong reading culture with effective phonics teaching and targeted support
• Pupils take on meaningful responsibilities and develop character
• Staff feel trusted and their workload and well-being are considered
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum in a few foundation subjects has too much content and lacks clearly identified key knowledge
• Teachers in some foundation subjects do not use the school's retrieval and review approach effectively to identify gaps
• Tasks are not always adapted to meet individual pupils' needs in a few subjects
• Pre-school curriculum content is not thought through carefully enough
• Some continuous provision activities in pre-school leave children's learning to chance

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 Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.7% 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, 0.2% of pupils at Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England 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 Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School had 20.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.9% 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, 12.8% of pupils at Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.1% 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 Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School received £6,255 and spent £6,002 for each of its 552 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £570,000 (£1,033 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 Loughborough · Leicestershire local authority: places and applications

What is Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in April 2025.

When was Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School was last inspected in April 2025.

How many pupils does Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School have?

Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School has 571 pupils on roll.

What age range does Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School cover?

Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 55% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School?

Barrow Hall Orchard Church of England Primary School is at Church Street, Barrow-upon-Soar, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE12 8HP.