Banham Primary School

Banham Primary School is a small academy-converter primary school within Co-Operative Education East. This was its first routine inspection under section 5, and inspectors found it performing well across the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Pupils are described as kind, happy, respectful and safe, and they typically achieve well in a calm and strongly communal school environment. The school's main strengths include a well-designed curriculum, knowledgeable teachers, strong early reading and phonics provision, and robust support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Pupils behave well, attend regularly, and benefit from a broad personal development offer including extra-curricular activities. Leadership is accurate in its self-evaluation, staff feel supported, and parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. Inspectors identified two main areas for improvement. Opportunities for pupils to develop independent and extended writing across the curriculum are not yet well established, which sometimes limits how clearly and fully pupils can express their ideas in different subjects. In addition, a small number of subjects have very new curriculum designs, meaning implementation is not yet firmly established and pupils do not always recall or retrieve knowledge as well as they could. Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Strengths

• Strong sense of community with kind, happy and responsible pupils
• Pupils feel safe and trust staff to help when needed
• Pupils typically achieve well and work hard in lessons
• Curriculum is typically well designed and teachers are knowledgeable
• Early years curriculum is comprehensive and builds on children's knowledge
• Reading is a priority, with early phonics and effective support for pupils who struggle
• Provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is robust
• Pupils are polite, respectful and treat each other equally
• School is calm with clear routines and rare persistent absence
• Pupils learn how to stay safe and healthy through personal development
• Extra-curricular activities build confidence and prepare pupils for the future
• Leaders accurately evaluate strengths and staff feel well supported
• Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Opportunities for independent and extended writing across the curriculum are not yet well developed
• Pupils are not always able to apply writing skills consistently across subjects
• A small number of subjects have very new curriculum designs and implementation is not firmly established
• In some subjects, pupils are not always able to recall or retrieve knowledge as well as they could

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 Banham Primary School attended 96.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.9% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Banham 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 Banham Primary School had 19.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 28.0% 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, 16.8% of pupils at Banham Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.1% 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 Banham Primary School received £7,481 and spent £7,478 for each of its 98 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £98,000 (£997 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of Co-Operative Education East, income was £7,963 and spending £8,101 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 Norwich (Breckland) · Norfolk local authority: places and applications

Banham Primary School is part of Co-Operative Education East, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• Bunwell Primary School Norwich
• Thompson Primary School Thetford

What is Banham Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Banham Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Banham Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Banham Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Banham Primary School have?

Banham Primary School has 95 pupils on roll.

What age range does Banham Primary School cover?

Banham Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 53% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Banham Primary School?

Banham Primary School is at Crown Street, Banham, Norwich, Norfolk, NR16 2EX.