Hockering Church of England Primary Academy

Hockering Church of England Primary Academy is a small church primary school in Norfolk, part of the Eden Federation and the Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust. Inspectors found the school performing well across the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. Pupils are settled, happy and safe, parents praise the strong sense of community, and pupils grow in confidence. The federation provides high-quality training and a broad, ambitious curriculum, and teachers are knowledgeable about what they teach. The school knows pupils as individuals and provides strong personalised support, particularly for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and in early years. Early reading and phonics are taught well, pupils are enthusiastic readers, and behaviour and attendance are good. Personal development is promoted well through tailored social and emotional support and cultural opportunities beyond the local village. Safeguarding is effective, and governors and trustees know the school well and support staff workload and well-being. The main area for improvement is the teaching of grammar, punctuation and spelling, which is not well established or consistent across the school. As a result, some pupils do not apply this knowledge well enough in their writing, and the quality of some pupils’ writing is not consistently high. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and under the current framework no overall effectiveness grade was given.

Strengths

• Pupils are settled, happy and safe, with a strong sense of community.
• The federation provides high-quality training and a broad, ambitious curriculum.
• Teachers are knowledgeable and check pupils’ knowledge carefully.
• Personalised support helps pupils catch up and close gaps.
• Pupils with SEND access the same curriculum as their peers and achieve well.
• Early reading and phonics are taught well, and pupils are enthusiastic readers.
• Pupils behave kindly and respectfully and attend well.
• Personal development is promoted well, including tailored social and emotional support.
• Pupils benefit from cultural opportunities beyond the local village.
• Governors and trustees know the school well and support staff workload and well-being.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• The approach to teaching grammar, punctuation and spelling is not well established or consistent across the school.
• Some pupils do not apply their grammar, punctuation and spelling knowledge well enough in writing.
• The quality of some pupils’ writing is not consistently of a high standard.

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 Hockering Church of England Primary Academy attended 90.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 24.2% 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, 6.5% of pupils at Hockering Church of England 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 Hockering Church of England Primary Academy had 13.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 35.7% 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, 30.0% of pupils at Hockering Church of England Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.3% 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 Hockering Church of England Primary Academy received £98,582 and spent £94,096 for each of its 31 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £7,000 (£218 per pupil).

Across all 22 schools of The Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust, income was £11,069 and spending £10,622 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 Dereham · Norfolk local authority: places and applications

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

• Lyng Church of England Primary Academy Norwich
• Great Witchingham Church of England Primary Academy Norwich
• Yaxham Church of England Primary Academy Dereham
• St Peter's CofE Primary Academy, Easton Norwich
• Dereham Church of England Infant and Nursery Academy Dereham
• Dereham Church of England Junior Academy Dereham
• North Elmham Church of England Primary Academy & Nursery Dereham
• Cawston Church of England Primary Academy Norwich
• Thomas Bullock Church of England Primary and Nursery Academy Thetford
• Brisley Church of England Primary Academy Dereham

What is Hockering Church of England Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hockering Church of England Primary Academy is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Hockering Church of England Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Hockering Church of England Primary Academy was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Hockering Church of England Primary Academy have?

Hockering Church of England Primary Academy has 30 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hockering Church of England Primary Academy cover?

Hockering Church of England Primary Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Hockering Church of England Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 67% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Hockering Church of England Primary Academy?

Hockering Church of England Primary Academy is at The Street, Hockering, Dereham, Norfolk, NR20 3HN.