Southery Academy

Southery Academy is a small primary school that inspectors found to be performing well across the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. The school has been through substantial change over the last three years, including a new curriculum, staffing and leadership team, with leadership and some staff now shared with another school in the Eastern Multi-Academy Trust. This has brought greater staffing stability and improved leadership capacity, and the revised curriculum is helping pupils achieve well, remember prior learning and become fluent, confident readers. Pupils enjoy school, behave well and benefit from a strong reading curriculum, effective support for pupils with SEND, and a positive early years start. Attendance is high, safeguarding is effective, and pupils are accepting of each other. Staff receive useful training and report strong subject knowledge and team spirit. The main areas for improvement are that behaviour management routines are not yet applied consistently by all staff, which can waste learning time, and that some parents lack confidence in the changes because communication about the reasons for decisions has not been strong enough. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was a graded inspection under section 5, so no overall effectiveness grade was given. The report recognises the school’s improvements while identifying the need for a unified approach to classroom routines and better communication with parents.

Strengths

• Ambitious, thoroughly revised curriculum that builds learning gradually and helps pupils remember more
• Strong reading and phonics provision, including effective support for pupils who fall behind
• Pupils with SEND are fully included and well supported to access the breadth of the curriculum
• Children get a positive start in early years, with well-planned provision that prepares them for Year 1
• Pupils behave well, show care and courtesy, and say behaviour has improved
• High attendance and a strong focus on pupil well-being
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Staff benefit from strong training, good subject knowledge and a supportive team culture
• Pupils take pride in their school and have opportunities for leadership and enrichment

Areas for Improvement

• Some staff do not apply behaviour management routines consistently, which can waste learning time
• Some parents lack confidence in the school’s changes because communication about decisions has been insufficient

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 Southery Academy attended 96.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.4% 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, 2.4% of pupils at Southery 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 Southery Academy had 18.7 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, 22.9% of pupils at Southery Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 13.3% 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 Southery Academy received £9,126 and spent £8,946 for each of its 83 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £185,000 (£2,229 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of Eastern Multi-Academy Trust, income was £7,459 and spending £7,372 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 Downham Market · Norfolk local authority: places and applications

Southery Academy is part of Eastern Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• Nelson Academy Downham Market
• Upwell Academy Wisbech
• Emneth Academy Wisbech
• Glade Academy Brandon
• Parkway Academy King'S Lynn
• King's Lynn Academy King'S Lynn
• Eastgate Academy King'S Lynn
• Norwich Road Academy Thetford
• Admirals Academy Thetford
• Raleigh Infant Academy Thetford

What is Southery Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Southery Academy is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Southery Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Southery Academy was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Southery Academy have?

Southery Academy has 83 pupils on roll.

What age range does Southery Academy cover?

Southery Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Southery Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 46% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Southery Academy?

Southery Academy is at Westgate Street, Southery, Downham Market, Norfolk, PE38 0PA.