Piper's Vale Primary - A Paradigm Academy

Piper’s Vale Primary, part of the Paradigm Academy Trust, is performing well overall following its first inspection since joining the trust. The school is recognized for its ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum which secures good educational outcomes, particularly in music, science, and reading. Pupils demonstrate good behavior, respect for one another, and a strong sense of belonging, feeling supported by their teachers. While the school provides a rich variety of activities and fosters a love for learning, there are some improvements needed in the consistency of mathematics delivery, particularly for older pupils who are catching up on previous learning gaps.

Strengths

• Well-designed, ambitious curriculum that integrates practical experiences.
• Strong emphasis on reading, with most pupils reading fluently by the end of key stage 1.
• Positive behavior and respectful interactions among pupils.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Engaging extracurricular activities that enhance learning experiences.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent delivery of the mathematics curriculum in key stage 2.
• Some pupils do not receive adequate work suited to their abilities in mathematics.

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 Piper's Vale Primary - A Paradigm Academy attended 93.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.8% 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, 1.4% of pupils at Piper's Vale Primary - A Paradigm Academy 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 Piper's Vale Primary - A Paradigm Academy had 17.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 30.4% 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, 11.4% of pupils at Piper's Vale Primary - A Paradigm Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 12.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has a SEN unit with 24 pupils.

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 Piper's Vale Primary - A Paradigm Academy received £9,609 and spent £9,637 for each of its 326 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £295,000 (£905 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Paradigm Trust, income was £10,029 and spending £10,015 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

Piper's Vale Primary - A Paradigm Academy is part of Paradigm Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Ipswich Academy Ipswich
• Murrayfield Primary - A Paradigm Academy Ipswich
• Woodbridge Road Academy Ipswich
• Culloden Primary - A Paradigm Academy London
• Old Ford Primary - A Paradigm Academy London
• Solebay Primary - A Paradigm Academy London

What is Piper's Vale Primary - A Paradigm Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Piper's Vale Primary - A Paradigm Academy is Good, from an inspection in April 2022.

When was Piper's Vale Primary - A Paradigm Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Piper's Vale Primary - A Paradigm Academy was last inspected in April 2022.

How many pupils does Piper's Vale Primary - A Paradigm Academy have?

Piper's Vale Primary - A Paradigm Academy has 361 pupils on roll.

What age range does Piper's Vale Primary - A Paradigm Academy cover?

Piper's Vale Primary - A Paradigm Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Piper's Vale Primary - A Paradigm Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 44% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Piper's Vale Primary - A Paradigm Academy?

Piper's Vale Primary - A Paradigm Academy is at Raeburn Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP3 0EW.