Freeman Community Primary School

Freeman Community Primary School is performing well overall, with inspectors finding strong provision across education, behaviour, personal development, leadership and early years. Pupils feel safe and cared for, behave well, and benefit from a broad curriculum, effective early reading and phonics, and a wide range of visits and activities that build confidence. The school has a notably caring and respectful culture, and pupils speak positively about celebrating difference and taking on leadership roles. The main areas for improvement relate to assessment and SEND. Assessment is not consistently rigorous across classes, so misconceptions and gaps are not always identified and some pupils do not make the progress they are capable of. While support for pupils with SEND is generally good and improving rapidly, the needs of some pupils are not yet met closely enough, which can affect their behaviour and progress. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first inspection under section 5. It is part of The Children's Endeavour Trust, and recent significant changes to senior leadership are beginning to raise expectations, with leaders well supported by the trust and local governing board. Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and cared for by adults who listen and act on concerns
• Adults are patient, kind and good role models for pupils
• Pupils behave well in lessons and during unstructured times
• Pupils treat staff, visitors and each other with respect
• Pupils celebrate difference and speak confidently about topics such as racism and disability
• The curriculum is broad, balanced and typically well sequenced
• Teachers use subject-specific terminology accurately to develop pupils' knowledge
• Early reading and phonics provision is effective
• Older pupils read well and correct their own mistakes accurately
• Pupils who fall behind in reading receive appropriate intervention
• Early identification of SEND needs is effective
• Provision for pupils with SEND is improving rapidly
• Attendance is actively promoted and supported
• Extra-curricular activities and visits develop pupils' confidence
• Personal, social, health and economic education supports pupils' understanding of health, safety and mental health
• Pupils take pride in leadership roles such as junior road safety officer and rights champions
• Leaders are tenacious in driving improvement, particularly in SEND
• Leaders are well supported by the trust and local governing board
• Staff benefit from training and development opportunities
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment is not consistently rigorous across the school
• Assessment does not always accurately identify misconceptions or gaps in knowledge
• Inconsistency between classes in assessment and expectations means some pupils do not make the progress they are capable of
• The needs of some pupils with SEND are not yet met sufficiently well
• SEND provision gaps can negatively affect some pupils' behaviour and progress
• The school needs more effective systems and structures to meet the needs of all pupils
• The impact of recent senior leadership changes has yet to be felt consistently

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 Freeman Community Primary School attended 94.1% 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, 5.5% of pupils at Freeman Community Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 2 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 Freeman Community Primary School had 23.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.6% 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, 24.4% of pupils at Freeman Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.6% 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 Freeman Community Primary School received £6,475 and spent £6,136 for each of its 201 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £138,000 (£685 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of The Children'S Endeavour Trust, income was £6,385 and spending £6,340 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 Stowmarket · Suffolk local authority: places and applications

Freeman Community Primary School is part of The Children'S Endeavour Trust, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• Chilton Community Primary School Stowmarket
• Combs Ford Primary School Stowmarket
• Abbot's Hall Community Primary School Stowmarket
• Bosmere Community Primary School Ipswich
• Whitehouse Community Primary School Ipswich
• Springfield Junior School Ipswich
• Broke Hall Community Primary School Ipswich

What is Freeman Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Freeman Community Primary School is Good, from an inspection in October 2024.

When was Freeman Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Freeman Community Primary School was last inspected in October 2024.

How many pupils does Freeman Community Primary School have?

Freeman Community Primary School has 197 pupils on roll.

What age range does Freeman Community Primary School cover?

Freeman Community Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 54% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Freeman Community Primary School?

Freeman Community Primary School is at Church Road, Stowupland, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 4BQ.