Swaffham Prior Church of England Primary School

Swaffham Prior Church of England Primary School has been evaluated as 'Good' overall in its first inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The school community is characterized by a warm and caring environment where pupils demonstrate positive behavior and a strong sense of respect and tolerance. Leaders have implemented a broad and ambitious curriculum, particularly excelling in early reading and mathematics. However, there are areas that need to be addressed, particularly around ensuring that systems for assessing pupil understanding are consistently applied across all subjects.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes and behavior.
• Strong community values contribute to a caring atmosphere.
• Pupils receive effective support for learning, including those with SEND.
• The curriculum is well-planned and ambitious.
• High expectations for learning and behavior are communicated clearly.
• Well-trained staff effectively deliver the phonics program.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent implementation of assessment systems across subjects.
• Some information for supporting SEND pupils is not precise enough.

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 Swaffham Prior Church of England Primary School attended 96.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.5% 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 Swaffham Prior Church of England 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 Swaffham Prior Church of England Primary School had 17.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.2% 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, 16.5% of pupils at Swaffham Prior Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.1% 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 Swaffham Prior Church of England Primary School received £8,127 and spent £7,566 for each of its 95 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £0 (£0 per pupil).

Across all 38 schools of Grace Schools, income was £7,113 and spending £6,207 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 Cambridge · Cambridgeshire local authority: places and applications

Swaffham Prior Church of England Primary School is part of Grace Schools, which runs 38 schools. The nearest others:

• Swaffham Bulbeck Church of England Primary School Cambridge
• St Andrew's CofE Primary School Ely
• Milton Church of England Primary School Cambridge
• Little Thetford CofE Primary School Ely
• St Luke's CofE Primary School Cambridge
• Babraham CofE (VC) Primary School Cambridge
• St Christopher's CEVCP School Bury St Edmunds
• Oakington CofE Primary School Cambridge
• Pathfinder CofE Primary School Cambridge
• Ely St Mary's CofE Junior School Ely

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

The latest Ofsted rating for Swaffham Prior Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2023.

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

Swaffham Prior Church of England Primary School was last inspected in January 2023.

How many pupils does Swaffham Prior Church of England Primary School have?

Swaffham Prior Church of England Primary School has 97 pupils on roll.

What age range does Swaffham Prior Church of England Primary School cover?

Swaffham Prior Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 94% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Swaffham Prior Church of England Primary School?

Swaffham Prior Church of England Primary School is at Station Road, Swaffham Prior, Cambridge, CB25 0LG.