Handford Hall Primary School

Handford Hall Primary School is performing well overall, achieving a good rating across most areas of education, behaviour, and leadership. The school promotes a positive and inclusive environment where pupils feel safe and are encouraged to engage in their learning actively. The ambitious curriculum is particularly strong in early reading and mathematics, and personal development is notably outstanding, with a range of extracurricular activities enriching the students' experiences. This is the first graded inspection since the school joined the Orwell Multi Academy Trust in 2017, highlighting its ongoing developmental journey.

Strengths

• Inclusive and diverse school community
• Pupils display positive attitudes and exceptional behaviour
• Strong curriculum with effective subject knowledge in early reading and mathematics
• Outstanding personal development program and extracurricular activities
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils do not fluently recall prior learning in a few foundation subjects
• Punctuality is insufficient, with many pupils arriving late and missing important learning time

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 Handford Hall Primary School attended 94.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.4% 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, 1.4% of pupils at Handford Hall Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Handford Hall Primary School had 20.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.3% 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, 31.7% of pupils at Handford Hall Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.5% 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 Handford Hall Primary School received £7,159 and spent £6,755 for each of its 358 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £332,000 (£929 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Orwell Multi Academy Trust, income was £6,821 and spending £6,575 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 Ipswich · Suffolk local authority: places and applications

Handford Hall Primary School is part of Orwell Multi Academy Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Springfield Infant School and Nursery Ipswich
• Halifax Primary School Ipswich
• The Willows Primary School Ipswich
• Brooklands Primary School Nr Manningtree
• Grange Community Primary School Felixstowe
• Grace Cook Primary School Stowmarket

What is Handford Hall Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Handford Hall Primary School is Good, from an inspection in May 2023.

When was Handford Hall Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Handford Hall Primary School was last inspected in May 2023.

How many pupils does Handford Hall Primary School have?

Handford Hall Primary School has 360 pupils on roll.

What age range does Handford Hall Primary School cover?

Handford Hall Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 62% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Handford Hall Primary School?

Handford Hall Primary School is at 57 Gatacre Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 2LQ.