Surlingham Primary School

Surlingham Primary School is a small village school of 59 pupils that has been judged to reach a strong standard across every inspected area, including achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Safeguarding standards are met. Published outcomes are consistently above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics, and children in the early years get off to a flying start and are exceptionally well prepared for Year 1. Pupils behave impeccably, attend school regularly, and benefit from an ambitious, locally relevant curriculum and a wide range of enriching experiences. The school's inclusive practice is a particular strength: pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils make excellent progress from their starting points, supported by precise diagnosis and well-considered strategies. Leaders demonstrate a clear vision, trustees provide robust challenge, and staff feel valued and supported by the trust. Parents are highly supportive, describing a school that is vibrant, happy and rooted in its community. The report identifies no weaknesses. The only next step is for leaders to continue building on the strengths of the curriculum and personal development programme to sustain high standards and achieve exceptional, transformational experiences for all pupils. This is a prevention and improvement message rather than a concern, and no areas for urgent attention are flagged.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve highly, with published outcomes above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics
• Pupils become fluent, confident readers through high-quality phonics teaching from the early years
• Pupils, including those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, achieve deep understanding across a wide range of subjects
• Pupils behave impeccably, are polite and respectful, and learning is rarely disrupted
• Attendance is strong, with leaders swiftly intervening when pupils are at risk of low attendance
• Children in the early years get off to a flying start and make excellent progress from their starting points
• Inclusion is highly effective, with precise diagnosis and well-considered support for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils
• Leaders have a clear vision and use robust monitoring to maintain high standards of teaching
• Trustees possess high levels of experience and provide robust challenge to leaders
• The personal development programme is carefully crafted to prepare pupils for life in modern Britain
• Pupils enjoy a wide range of enriching visits and leadership opportunities
• Parents are highly supportive and value the school's role at the heart of village life

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 Surlingham Primary School attended 96.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.5% 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 Surlingham 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 Surlingham Primary School had 29.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 33.3% 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, 24.6% of pupils at Surlingham Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.5% 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 Surlingham Primary School received £9,171 and spent £8,708 for each of its 59 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £29,000 (£499 per pupil).

Across all 23 schools of Sapientia Education Trust, income was £8,533 and spending £8,510 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 · Norfolk local authority: places and applications

Surlingham Primary School is part of Sapientia Education Trust, which runs 23 schools. The nearest others:

• Rockland St Mary Primary School Main Office
• Framingham Earl High School Norwich
• White House Farm Norwich
• Seething and Mundham Primary School Norwich
• City Academy Norwich Norwich
• Ghost Hill Infant and Nursery School Norwich
• Beccles High School Beccles
• Tivetshall Community Primary School Norwich
• Wymondham College Wymondham
• Wymondham College Prep School Wymondham

What is Surlingham Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Surlingham Primary School is Strong standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Surlingham Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Surlingham Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Surlingham Primary School have?

Surlingham Primary School has 65 pupils on roll.

What age range does Surlingham Primary School cover?

Surlingham Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 89% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Surlingham Primary School?

Surlingham Primary School is at Walnut Hill, Surlingham, Rockland St Mary Primary School, Norwich, Norfolk, NR14 7DQ.