Leiston Primary School

Leiston Primary School is a caring and well-led school where pupils’ well-being is a priority and most pupils behave well. The school has made substantial changes since its previous inspection, including a new curriculum, and these are beginning to have a positive impact, especially for the youngest children and oldest pupils. Early years provision, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management are all strong, and safeguarding is effective. The main area for improvement is the quality of education. The curriculum is not yet implemented consistently well: some pupils do not keep up in English and mathematics, assessment in core subjects does not reliably identify and address gaps, and teaching in foundation subjects sometimes focuses on completing activities rather than securing deep understanding. Pupils with SEND have their needs well identified and many strategies are in place, but support for their cognitive learning needs is not consistently precise enough. The school benefits from a stable and ambitious leadership team, including governors and trustees, who know what still needs to be done. Staff are generally positive about the changes and about support for their well-being and workload, and many parents praise leaders’ work. The school’s phonics programme is now well established, standards in reading are rising, and the early years curriculum is well thought out and effectively delivered.

Strengths

• Pupils’ well-being is prioritised, with timely and tenacious support for vulnerable pupils and families.
• Most pupils behave well, are kind to one another, and value the help they receive from staff.
• Pupils enjoy an extensive range of trips, visits, visitors and the ‘11-by-11’ activities.
• The well-organised phonics programme is delivered very well, and reading standards are rising quickly and securely.
• Early years provision is well thought out, with well-trained staff supporting children’s language, early reading, writing and mathematics.
• Pupils with SEND have their needs well identified, and well-planned strategies and external specialist expertise are used.
• Personal development is strong, including learning about friendships, healthy living, different families, cultures and religions.
• Leaders, governors and trustees have brought about rapid and much-needed change and know precisely what still must be done.
• The attendance and welfare team works closely with vulnerable pupils and families, improving attendance and behaviour markedly.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment in core subjects is not used effectively enough to identify and address gaps in some pupils’ knowledge.
• Some pupils do not learn as well as they should in English and mathematics and struggle to keep up with their peers.
• Support for some pupils with SEND does not precisely address their cognitive learning needs.
• In foundation subjects, teaching sometimes focuses on completing activities rather than ensuring pupils understand and apply key concepts.
• The curriculum is not consistently implemented as intended across all subjects.

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 Leiston Primary School attended 93.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.6% 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, 2.5% of pupils at Leiston 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 Leiston Primary School had 21.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 29.9% 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, 21.9% of pupils at Leiston Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.7% 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 Leiston Primary School received £6,801 and spent £6,553 for each of its 382 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £511,000 (£1,338 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of East Anglian Schools Trust Ltd, income was £7,560 and spending £7,510 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.

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All schools in East Suffolk · Suffolk local authority: places and applications

Leiston Primary School is part of East Anglian Schools Trust Ltd, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• Aldeburgh Primary School Aldeburgh
• Saxmundham Primary School Saxmundham
• Wickham Market Primary School Woodbridge
• Easton Primary School Woodbridge
• Farlingaye High School Woodbridge
• Kyson Primary School Woodbridge
• Kesgrave High School Ipswich
• Bungay High School Bungay
• Castle EAST School Bungay
• Holbrook Academy Ipswich

What is Leiston Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Leiston Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was Leiston Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Leiston Primary School was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does Leiston Primary School have?

Leiston Primary School has 383 pupils on roll.

What age range does Leiston Primary School cover?

Leiston Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 64% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Leiston Primary School?

Leiston Primary School is at King George's Avenue, Leiston, Suffolk, IP16 4JQ.