Elmsett Church of England Primary School

Elmsett Church of England Primary School is a warm, friendly and inclusive school where pupils feel safe, respected and keen to attend. Inspectors found the school to be good across the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. This was the school's first routine inspection since the pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since becoming an academy within the St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocesan Multi-Academy Trust; no overall effectiveness grade is given under the current framework. The curriculum has been carefully redesigned for mixed-age classes, with trust support helping leaders identify and build important knowledge over time. Early reading is taught very effectively, pupils with SEND receive tailored support, and children in the early years get a strong start in communication, sharing and cooperation. Pupils benefit from a broad range of personal development opportunities, including clubs, sport, trips and citizenship activities, and staff feel well supported by leaders and the trust. The main areas for improvement are writing and pupils' knowledge of faiths and cultures beyond Christianity. Pupils do not always get enough opportunities to develop and extend their writing across the curriculum, so the quality of writing is too variable and sometimes lacks depth. Pupils also have less well-developed experiences and knowledge of other faiths and cultures, which leaders should enhance so that pupils are fully prepared for life in modern Britain.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe, respected and rarely absent in a warm, family-feel school.
• Pupils show positive attitudes to learning and look out for each other.
• The curriculum is carefully designed around mixed-age classes and builds knowledge over time.
• Teachers are skilled at identifying and correcting pupils' misconceptions.
• Early reading is taught very effectively from the start of Reception.
• Pupils with SEND receive carefully tailored support and achieve well.
• Early years children learn to share, take turns and communicate confidently.
• Pupils access a broad range of personal development opportunities, including clubs, sport and trips.
• The trust and local governing body support and challenge school leaders effectively.
• Staff value the support for their well-being and manageable workload.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not always get enough opportunities to develop and extend their writing across the curriculum.
• The quality of pupils' writing is too variable and sometimes lacks depth.
• Pupils' experiences and knowledge of faiths and cultures other than Christianity are less well developed.

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 Elmsett Church of England Primary School attended 96.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.2% 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, 3.5% of pupils at Elmsett 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 Elmsett Church of England Primary School had 10.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 38.6% 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, 19.5% of pupils at Elmsett Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.4% 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 Elmsett Church of England Primary School received £10,346 and spent £10,189 for each of its 57 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £27,000 (£471 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocesan Multi-Academy Trust, income was £7,618 and spending £7,433 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

Elmsett Church of England Primary School is part of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocesan Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• Hintlesham and Chattisham Church of England Primary School Ipswich
• St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Hadleigh Ipswich
• Sproughton Church of England Primary School Ipswich
• St Matthew's Church of England Primary School, Ipswich Ipswich
• Stoke-by-Nayland Church of England Primary School Nr Colchester
• Morland Church of England Primary School Ipswich
• Chelmondiston Church of England Primary School Ipswich
• Nacton Church of England Primary School Ipswich
• Tudor Church of England Primary School, Sudbury Sudbury
• Long Melford Church of England Primary School Sudbury

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

The latest Ofsted rating for Elmsett Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in October 2024.

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

Elmsett Church of England Primary School was last inspected in October 2024.

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

Elmsett Church of England Primary School has 41 pupils on roll.

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

Elmsett Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 38% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Elmsett Church of England Primary School?

Elmsett Church of England Primary School is at The Street, Elmsett, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP7 6PA.