Ixworth Church of England Primary School

Ixworth Church of England Primary School is a small village primary, part of the Tilian Partnership, with a nursery and provision for two-year-olds. Inspectors found a welcoming, inclusive school where pupils are happy, feel safe and speak highly of their achievements. Safeguarding standards are met. Pupils behave calmly and respectfully, relationships are strong, and the curriculum is engaging, well sequenced and adapted well for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged backgrounds. Phonics is embedded, early years provision is nurturing, and attendance has improved rapidly to close to national average through leaders' focused strategies. Governance and trust support are effective, and staff feel well supported. All judged areas were rated at the expected standard. The school's main strengths lie in its caring ethos, personal development offer, inclusion and leadership. Pupils benefit from enrichment, pastoral support and clear values, and they are well prepared for the next stage of education. The report also notes that pupils make appropriate progress from their starting points and that leaders use assessment effectively to plan learning. However, there are areas for further refinement. Writing remains a priority: pupils' written work is not consistently of high quality across subjects, and writing attainment, especially for disadvantaged pupils, is below national averages. Some higher-ability pupils are not consistently given sufficiently challenging tasks to deepen their thinking, and early years handwriting activities sometimes lack structure. Persistent absence and overall absence are above national averages, even though leaders have improved attendance rapidly. The next steps focus on ensuring consistently high-quality written work and consistently planned opportunities for deeper thinking.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, feel safe and value the close-knit school community.
• Pupils have trusted adults and know how to get help for themselves or their peers.
• Behaviour is calm and purposeful, with respectful interactions and rare bullying.
• Attendance has improved rapidly and is now close to the national average.
• Leaders use focused strategies and early intervention to improve attendance.
• The curriculum is engaging, relevant, well-sequenced and tailored to pupils' needs.
• Phonics is embedded across the school, helping pupils decode and read new texts confidently.
• Staff make effective adaptations for pupils with SEND and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
• Pupils, including those with SEND, make appropriate progress from their starting points.
• Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education.
• Early years children settle quickly into a nurturing, calm environment with well-established routines.
• Children transition seamlessly to Year 1.
• Leaders have a deep understanding of the school community and local context.
• Governance and trust oversight are well informed and improvement plans are logical and well implemented.
• Staff feel highly supported, and leaders manage workload and wellbeing thoughtfully.
• Personal development is strong, with a well-sequenced curriculum, enrichment and pastoral support.
• Pupils can discuss fundamental British values and understand how to be a good friend.
• External agency links provide careers, safety and mindfulness support.
• Leaders use assessment effectively to plan subsequent steps in learning.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' written work is not consistently of high quality across different subjects.
• Writing attainment is below national averages, including for disadvantaged pupils.
• Outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics combined are below national averages.
• Disadvantaged pupils' performance gaps remain, particularly in writing and combined reading, writing and mathematics.
• Teachers do not consistently plan or adapt learning activities to provide sufficient challenge for higher-ability pupils.
• Some higher-ability pupils require further challenge to deepen their learning.
• Early years handwriting activities would benefit from a higher level of structure.
• Persistent absence and overall absence remain above national averages.
• Written work quality needs to remain a continuing priority.

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 Ixworth Church of England Primary School attended 91.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 22.3% 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, 9.2% of pupils at Ixworth Church of England 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 Ixworth Church of England Primary School had 20.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.4% 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, 20.2% of pupils at Ixworth Church of England 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 Ixworth Church of England Primary School received £8,070 and spent £7,585 for each of its 137 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £199,000 (£1,453 per pupil).

Across all 15 schools of The Tilian Partnership, income was £6,916 and spending £6,928 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.

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All schools in Bury St. Edmunds · Suffolk local authority: places and applications

Ixworth Church of England Primary School is part of The Tilian Partnership, which runs 15 schools. The nearest others:

• Bardwell Church of England Primary School Bury St Edmunds
• Thurston Church of England Primary Academy Bury St. Edmunds
• Great Barton Church of England Primary Academy Bury St Edmunds
• Rougham Church of England Primary School Bury St. Edmunds
• Crawford's Church of England Primary School Stowmarket
• Rattlesden Church of England Primary Academy Bury St Edmunds
• Gislingham Church of England Primary School Eye
• Old Newton Church of England Primary School Stowmarket
• Palgrave Church of England Primary School Nr Diss
• Cavendish Church of England Primary School Sudbury

What is Ixworth Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ixworth Church of England Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Ixworth Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Ixworth Church of England Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Ixworth Church of England Primary School have?

Ixworth Church of England Primary School has 163 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ixworth Church of England Primary School cover?

Ixworth Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Ixworth Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 40% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Ixworth Church of England Primary School?

Ixworth Church of England Primary School is at Crown Lane, Ixworth, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, IP31 2EL.