The Willows Primary School

The Willows Primary School, inspected in February 2024, is currently rated as requiring improvement overall. The school has undergone significant leadership changes since its previous inspection, and while there are positive aspects in personal development and early years provision, the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership are areas of concern. Although pupils enjoy the school and engage with a broad curriculum, they do not achieve their potential, particularly in mathematics and for those with SEND. Current initiatives to improve the school's performance have begun, but their effectiveness is still in development.

Strengths

• Pupils have positive relationships with staff and feel safe.
• The early years curriculum effectively matches children's abilities.
• Pupils benefit from a variety of enriching extracurricular activities.
• Staff are well trained in phonics and reading instruction.
• Pupils are encouraged to take on leadership roles and participate in extracurricular clubs.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not achieve well in some subjects, including mathematics.
• Teachers do not always adjust activities to support pupils with SEND effectively.
• Certain pupils display disrespectful behaviour and do not consistently meet behaviour expectations.
• Some pupils have high absence rates, impacting 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 The Willows Primary School attended 93.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 22.0% 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, 4.9% of pupils at The Willows Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 2 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 The Willows Primary School had 15.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.7% 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, 18.5% of pupils at The Willows Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 10.0% 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 The Willows Primary School received £8,715 and spent £8,253 for each of its 306 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £284,000 (£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

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

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

What is The Willows Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Willows Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was The Willows Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Willows Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does The Willows Primary School have?

The Willows Primary School has 259 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Willows Primary School cover?

The Willows Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 35% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is The Willows Primary School?

The Willows Primary School is at Downing Close, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP2 9ER.