Wickhambrook Primary Academy

Wickhambrook Primary Academy is a small rural primary school in the Unity Schools Partnership. This was its first section 5 inspection since becoming an academy, although the predecessor school had previously been judged outstanding. The relatively new headteacher and deputy headteacher took up their roles in September 2023 and have stabilised the school after an unsettled period. Inspectors found the school to be strong overall: quality of education and behaviour and attitudes are good, while personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision are outstanding. Safeguarding is effective. Pupils are happy, attend well and benefit from a strong sense of community, warm relationships and clear routines. The curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced, with a strong emphasis on vocabulary, reading and phonics. Pupils with SEND are well supported and achieve well, and the school makes effective use of technology. Behaviour has improved significantly following a new policy, and personal development is exceptionally well planned, with extensive enrichment opportunities. The main area for improvement is that teaching is not consistently adapted to ensure all pupils are moved on when ready. In some lessons, activity design and timing, or feedback, do not help pupils deepen their learning as well as they could. Leaders are focused on continued improvement and are well supported and challenged by the trust and governors.

Strengths

• Strong community ethos and warm relationships across year groups
• Children get off to a flying start in the early years
• Ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum with a high priority on vocabulary
• Effective training supports teachers to teach subjects confidently
• Expert phonics teaching helps almost all pupils read fluently by the end of Year 1
• Effective use of technology, including strong support for pupils with SEND
• Pupils with SEND access the same curriculum and achieve well
• New behaviour policy has had a significant positive impact
• Exceptionally well-planned personal development and extensive enrichment
• Leadership has stabilised the school and improved staff well-being and parental engagement
• Trust and governors provide high-quality support and challenge

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers miss opportunities to move pupils' learning forward through activity design and timing
• Feedback is not always used effectively to help pupils improve
• Some pupils who are ready to move on are not always given activities that deepen their learning

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 Wickhambrook Primary Academy attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.8% 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, 2.3% of pupils at Wickhambrook 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 Wickhambrook Primary Academy had 14.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.3% 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, 11.7% of pupils at Wickhambrook Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.8% 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 Wickhambrook Primary Academy received £7,351 and spent £7,521 for each of its 177 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £54,000 (£305 per pupil).

Across all 39 schools of Unity Schools Partnership, income was £8,494 and spending £8,500 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 Newmarket · Suffolk local authority: places and applications

Wickhambrook Primary Academy is part of Unity Schools Partnership, which runs 40 schools. The nearest others:

• Kedington Primary Academy Haverhill
• Glemsford Primary Academy Sudbury
• Samuel Ward Academy Haverhill
• Westfield Primary Academy Haverhill
• Coupals Primary Academy Haverhill
• Churchill Special Free School Haverhill
• Castle Manor Academy Haverhill
• Place Farm Primary Academy Haverhill
• Ditton Lodge Primary School Newmarket
• Burton End Primary Academy Haverhill

What is Wickhambrook Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Wickhambrook Primary Academy is Good, from an inspection in October 2024.

When was Wickhambrook Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Wickhambrook Primary Academy was last inspected in October 2024.

How many pupils does Wickhambrook Primary Academy have?

Wickhambrook Primary Academy has 180 pupils on roll.

What age range does Wickhambrook Primary Academy cover?

Wickhambrook Primary Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Wickhambrook Primary Academy?

Wickhambrook Primary Academy is at Wickhambrook, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 8XN.