Grace Cook Primary School

Grace Cook Primary School is a small, growing academy free school that opened in September 2022 and is part of The Orwell Trust. This was its first section 5 inspection, and inspectors found a safe, caring and purposeful school where pupils are confident, kind and engaged in their learning. The school has high expectations for behaviour, a calm learning environment, strong reading and phonics provision, and effective support for the growing number of pupils with SEND. Early years provision is a particular strength, with a well-designed curriculum and a strong focus on vocabulary and independence.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and are confident and kind to one another
• High expectations for behaviour are consistently met
• Early years provision is excellent and prepares children very well for key stage 1
• Reading and phonics are taught well, with early identification and support for pupils who struggle
• Pupils with SEND are well supported and achieve well alongside their classmates
• Attendance is a high priority and has improved
• The curriculum is ambitious and particularly well sequenced in English and mathematics
• Staff receive high-quality training and are well supported with well-being and workload
• Trustees and governors are knowledgeable and check the work of the school
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, the school has not identified precisely the knowledge pupils need to learn
• Teachers do not consistently deliver the curriculum as intended in some subjects, risking gaps in pupils’ knowledge
• Not all leaders have the understanding to complete rigorous and accurate checks of their areas of responsibility
• The school does not consistently assess curriculum implementation, so impact is not evaluated regularly
• Leaders need training and a structured quality assurance programme to ensure a consistent approach across curriculum areas

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 Grace Cook Primary School attended 95.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.5% 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, 3.3% of pupils at Grace Cook 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 Grace Cook Primary School had 21.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.7% 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, 14.3% of pupils at Grace Cook Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.9% 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 Grace Cook Primary School received £6,598 and spent £6,121 for each of its 182 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £302,000 (£1,661 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Orwell Multi Academy Trust, income was £6,821 and spending £6,575 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

Grace Cook Primary School is part of Orwell Multi Academy Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Springfield Infant School and Nursery Ipswich
• Handford Hall Primary School Ipswich
• The Willows Primary School Ipswich
• Halifax Primary School Ipswich
• Brooklands Primary School Nr Manningtree
• Grange Community Primary School Felixstowe

What is Grace Cook Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Grace Cook Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Grace Cook Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Grace Cook Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Grace Cook Primary School have?

Grace Cook Primary School has 203 pupils on roll.

What age range does Grace Cook Primary School cover?

Grace Cook Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

Where is Grace Cook Primary School?

Grace Cook Primary School is at Fuller Way, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 1GG.