Springfield Junior School

Springfield Junior School is a happy, welcoming school at the heart of its community, and this was its first routine section 5 inspection. Inspectors found the school good across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management; because of current arrangements, no overall effectiveness grade was awarded. The school has a new headteacher and leadership team who, after an unsettled period, have established clear systems and made it a positive place to learn. It is part of The Children’s Endeavour Trust and was previously judged outstanding before becoming an academy. Pupils typically achieve well through an ambitious curriculum, and reading is a particular priority: phonics is delivered effectively and pupils become fluent, confident readers. Pupils with SEND are well supported and achieve well from their starting points. Behaviour is managed consistently with positive relationships, classrooms are generally calm and orderly, and pupils feel safe. Playtime activities and enrichment, including trips and residentials, broaden pupils’ experiences, including for disadvantaged pupils. Personal development and safeguarding are effective, governance provides suitable support and challenge, and staff feel well supported. The main areas for improvement are curriculum precision and delivery. In some subjects, the core knowledge pupils should learn is not identified sharply enough, so pupils do not always recall and build on the most important content. On occasion, teaching does not move learning on quickly enough, leaving some pupils without the extension they need to reach their full potential.

Strengths

• Warm, welcoming ethos that makes pupils and families feel part of the school community
• Ambitious curriculum that helps pupils typically achieve well
• Effective phonics and reading provision that develops fluent, confident readers
• Strong support for pupils with SEND, who achieve well from their starting points
• Clear and consistent behaviour management built on positive relationships
• Calm, orderly classrooms and a productive learning environment
• Wide range of playtime activities and enrichment opportunities, including for disadvantaged pupils
• Pupils feel safe and develop respect, tolerance and online safety awareness
• Supportive governance and staff who feel well supported in workload, well-being and development

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, core knowledge is not precisely identified in the curriculum
• Pupils do not always securely recall and build on the most important knowledge in those subjects
• Curriculum delivery sometimes does not move pupils’ learning on quickly enough, limiting extension

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 Springfield Junior School attended 94.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.1% 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, 1.5% of pupils at Springfield Junior 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 Springfield Junior School had 20.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.5% 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, 13.0% of pupils at Springfield Junior 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 Springfield Junior School received £6,239 and spent £5,851 for each of its 337 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £243,000 (£720 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of The Children'S Endeavour Trust, income was £6,385 and spending £6,340 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

Springfield Junior School is part of The Children'S Endeavour Trust, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• Whitehouse Community Primary School Ipswich
• Broke Hall Community Primary School Ipswich
• Bosmere Community Primary School Ipswich
• Combs Ford Primary School Stowmarket
• Abbot's Hall Community Primary School Stowmarket
• Freeman Community Primary School Stowmarket
• Chilton Community Primary School Stowmarket

What is Springfield Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Springfield Junior School is Good, from an inspection in April 2025.

When was Springfield Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Springfield Junior School was last inspected in April 2025.

How many pupils does Springfield Junior School have?

Springfield Junior School has 354 pupils on roll.

What age range does Springfield Junior School cover?

Springfield Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Springfield Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

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

Where is Springfield Junior School?

Springfield Junior School is at Kitchener Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 4DT.