Gunthorpe Primary School

Gunthorpe Primary School is an improving school where recent changes are beginning to raise expectations and improve pupils’ experience, but provision is not yet consistent across the school. Behaviour has improved significantly, classrooms are calmer, playtimes are stronger, and pupils benefit from a safe and caring environment. Reading has a renewed focus and attendance is a high priority, with dedicated staff working closely with families. Personal development and leadership are notable strengths, including strong strategic oversight from trustees and local governors and effective safeguarding arrangements. The main concerns are in the quality of education and early years provision. The recently revamped curriculum is ambitious, but pupils’ gaps in prior knowledge are not always identified and addressed, so some pupils move through lessons without securing key learning. Writing is a particular barrier: expectations and support vary across year groups, and early years children have too few opportunities to use phonics in writing. Pupils with SEND receive tailored support, including speech and language therapy and a bespoke space, but some targets are too broad and lack measurable aims, making it harder to evaluate impact and adapt support. The school is part of Soke Education Trust, and leadership changes have taken place since the previous inspection. Leaders are taking sensible steps to raise standards and staff generally support the changes, while parents note improvements in care and leaders’ approachability. Safeguarding is effective. Overall, the school has clear strengths in behaviour, personal development and leadership, but it needs to strengthen curriculum implementation, writing instruction and SEND target setting so that all pupils achieve consistently well.

Strengths

• Pupils’ behaviour has improved significantly and classrooms are much calmer.
• Staff address challenging behaviour appropriately and maintain a safe, orderly environment.
• Revitalised playtimes give pupils varied, enjoyable activities and a calm space called The Zone.
• A renewed focus on reading is beginning to show results, including stronger phonics progress in early years.
• Pupils benefit from regular reading practice and careful support when they struggle.
• The school provides tailored SEND support, including speech and language therapy and The Nest.
• Attendance is a top priority, with dedicated early support and relationship-building with families.
• Personal development is a strong focus, with well-being support and a curriculum that develops respect and friendships.
• Trustees and local governors provide strong strategic oversight and know the school well.
• Leaders are approachable and use reflection meetings to shape staff training and support changes.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum changes are not yet implemented consistently, and some pupils lack the prior knowledge needed to access the ambitious curriculum.
• Checks on pupils’ understanding do not always inform teaching well enough, so gaps in knowledge are not consistently identified and resolved.
• Writing remains a barrier, with too many pupils struggling to write legibly and accurately.
• Expectations and support for writing vary across year groups, and early years children have too few opportunities to use phonics in writing.
• Some SEND targets are too broad and lack clear, measurable aims, making it difficult to assess the impact of support.
• Some pupils with SEND struggle in lessons and may disengage or show heightened behaviour when staff support is not fully effective.

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 Gunthorpe Primary School attended 94.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.4% 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, 9.7% of pupils at Gunthorpe 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 Gunthorpe Primary School had 19.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 28.5% 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, 29.3% of pupils at Gunthorpe Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.4% 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 Gunthorpe Primary School received £7,262 and spent £7,244 for each of its 341 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £681,000 (£1,997 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of Soke Education Trust, income was £6,611 and spending £6,782 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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• Secondary Schools

All schools in Peterborough · Peterborough local authority: places and applications

Gunthorpe Primary School is part of Soke Education Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Werrington Primary School Peterborough
• Northborough Primary School Peterborough
• John Clare Primary School Peterborough
• Alderman Jacobs School Peterborough
• Wittering Primary School Peterborough

What is Gunthorpe Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Gunthorpe Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Gunthorpe Primary School was last inspected in April 2025.

How many pupils does Gunthorpe Primary School have?

Gunthorpe Primary School has 290 pupils on roll.

What age range does Gunthorpe Primary School cover?

Gunthorpe Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

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

Where is Gunthorpe Primary School?

Gunthorpe Primary School is at The Pentlands, Hallfields Lane, Gunthorpe, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE4 7YP.