Orchards Church of England Academy

Orchards Church of England Academy is a happy, welcoming primary school that inspectors judged good in all key areas, including early years. It has improved since its previous requires-improvement inspection: leaders, with trust support, have raised expectations and built a broad, balanced curriculum that starts in early years and is beginning to show stronger provisional reading and writing outcomes. Pupils are polite, feel safe and benefit from calm routines, a wide range of clubs and outdoor learning, and a well-considered personal development programme. The school is notably inclusive. It welcomes many pupils who join mid-year and has effective systems to identify and support pupils with SEND and those learning English as an additional language. Phonics teaching is strong, early years provision focuses well on language, and safeguarding is effective. The main areas for development are that some pupils at the earliest stages of reading and writing do not get enough independent practice before being moved to more complex tasks, and published outcomes do not yet reflect the current quality of education because older cohorts had less time to benefit from improvements. Attendance has improved through the school’s actions but remains higher than the school would like.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, polite and feel safe in a welcoming school.
• Positive relationships between pupils and staff help pupils feel supported.
• The curriculum is broad, balanced and starts effectively in the early years.
• Leaders have raised expectations and improved curriculum planning across subjects.
• Provisional reading and writing outcomes show increasingly effective teaching.
• The school identifies and supports pupils with SEND and those learning English as an additional language well.
• Phonics teaching is well trained, with reading books matched appropriately to pupils’ learning.
• Early years provision is responsive to children’s needs and strongly focused on language development.
• Behaviour and routines are calm and orderly from the start of early years.
• The personal development programme teaches diversity, equality and community contribution well.
• Trust and local governance provide strong challenge and support for improvement.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils at the early stages of reading and writing do not get enough opportunities to practise and apply basic skills independently before moving on to more complex tasks.
• Published outcomes do not yet reflect the improved quality of education, particularly for older pupils who had less time to benefit from recent changes.
• Absence remains higher than the school would like, although attendance is improving through the school’s actions.

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 Orchards Church of England Academy attended 91.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 25.8% 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, 11.0% of pupils at Orchards Church of England Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 3 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 Orchards Church of England Academy had 20.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 31.0% 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, 20.1% of pupils at Orchards Church of England Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.2% 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 Orchards Church of England Academy received £7,738 and spent £7,144 for each of its 393 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £0 (£0 per pupil).

Across all 38 schools of Grace Schools, income was £7,113 and spending £6,207 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 Wisbech · Cambridgeshire local authority: places and applications

Orchards Church of England Academy is part of Grace Schools, which runs 38 schools. The nearest others:

• St Peter's CofE Aided Junior School Wisbech
• Elm CofE Primary School Wisbech
• Wisbech St Mary CofE Academy Wisbech
• Marshland St James Primary and Nursery School Wisbech
• Anthony Curton CofE Primary School Wisbech
• Guyhirn CofE VC Primary School Wisbech
• Tilney All Saints CofE Primary School King'S Lynn
• Holy Cross Church of England Primary School King'S Lynn
• Hilgay Riverside Academy Downham Market
• St Martin At Shouldham Church of England Primary Academy King'S Lynn

What is Orchards Church of England Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Orchards Church of England Academy is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Orchards Church of England Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Orchards Church of England Academy was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Orchards Church of England Academy have?

Orchards Church of England Academy has 384 pupils on roll.

What age range does Orchards Church of England Academy cover?

Orchards Church of England Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 49% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Orchards Church of England Academy?

Orchards Church of England Academy is at Cherry Road, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, PE13 3NP.