Acle Church of England Primary Academy

Acle Church of England Primary Academy is a small Church of England primary school within the Diocese of Norwich St Benet's Multi-Academy Trust. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils feel safe, behave well and are part of a caring community. Attendance has improved, early years provision is calm and purposeful, inclusion is a notable strength, and pupils benefit from well-planned personal development and wider opportunities. Governance and trust oversight are effective, and staff feel supported. However, the school's academic performance is uneven. Key stage 2 reading and mathematics outcomes have been below national averages for two years, and Year 1 phonics and Year 4 multiplication check results have also been consistently below national averages. Too many pupils are not well prepared for the next stage of their education, with gaps in basic reading, writing and mathematics. Disadvantaged pupils' outcomes are a particular concern in several measures. The quality of curriculum and teaching varies, and recent improvements are at an early stage. Teaching does not consistently adapt the curriculum so pupils can practise, apply and embed learning, particularly in English and mathematics, and teachers do not always identify and address misconceptions promptly. Recent leadership changes have slowed some curriculum priorities. Overall, the school has strong pastoral care, inclusion and behaviour, but it needs more consistent teaching and achievement in core subjects, with stronger trust challenge and support.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture and concerns managed effectively.
• Pupils feel safe, behave well and follow routines; bullying is rare and dealt with promptly.
• Attendance and persistent absence have improved through close monitoring and early intervention.
• Early years provides a calm, caring environment with clear routines and strong early reading and communication development.
• Leaders identify SEND, disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils accurately and provide effective, personalised support.
• Inclusion is strong: pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils access the full curriculum and wider opportunities.
• Personal development is well planned and promotes values, wellbeing, online safety, British values and community involvement.
• Pupils enjoy school, are fully included, and take on leadership roles and wider experiences.
• Governance is effective, with trustees using transparent systems to hold leaders to account.
• Staff value professional development and trust support, and leaders consider workload and wellbeing.
• The phonics curriculum is improving, with a systematic synthetic programme and books matched to pupils' sounds.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement varies across subjects, with key stage 2 reading and mathematics outcomes below national averages for two years.
• Year 1 phonics screening and Year 4 multiplication check results have been consistently below national averages.
• Too many pupils are not prepared for the next stage of their education.
• Gaps remain in pupils' basic reading, writing and mathematics knowledge, limiting understanding across subjects.
• Disadvantaged pupils' outcomes are well below national non-disadvantaged averages in several measures, with large gaps.
• Curriculum and teaching quality is inconsistent, and improvements are at an early stage with impact not yet evident.
• Teaching does not consistently adapt the curriculum so pupils can practise, apply and embed learning, especially in English and mathematics.
• Teachers do not consistently identify and address errors or misconceptions, so pupils repeat mistakes.
• Some early years independent activities are not focused enough to maximise learning.
• Recent leadership changes have meant some curriculum priorities were not addressed quickly enough.
• The trust still needs to provide effective challenge and targeted support to strengthen staff subject knowledge and expertise.

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 Acle Church of England Primary Academy attended 94.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.2% 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, 4.9% of pupils at Acle Church of England Primary Academy 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 Acle Church of England Primary Academy had 24.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 27.1% 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, 16.8% of pupils at Acle Church of England Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.1% 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 Acle Church of England Primary Academy received £6,956 and spent £7,348 for each of its 185 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £85,000 (£460 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of The Diocese of Norwich St Benet'S Multi-Academy Trust, income was £9,471 and spending £9,419 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 Norwich · Norfolk local authority: places and applications

Acle Church of England Primary Academy is part of The Diocese of Norwich St Benet'S Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 19 schools. The nearest others:

• Little Plumstead Church of England Primary Academy Norwich
• Catfield CofE Primary Academy Great Yarmouth
• Hickling CofE Infants Academy Norwich
• Sutton Church of England Infant Acdemy Norwich
• Happisburgh Church of England Primary Academy Norwich
• Newton Flotman Church of England Primary Academy Norwich
• Alburgh With Denton Church of England Primary Academy Harleston
• St Mary's Church of England Junior Academy Norwich
• Tacolneston Church of England Primary Academy Norwich
• St Mary's Church of England Primary Academy Norwich

What is Acle Church of England Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Acle Church of England Primary Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Acle Church of England Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Acle Church of England Primary Academy was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Acle Church of England Primary Academy have?

Acle Church of England Primary Academy has 197 pupils on roll.

What age range does Acle Church of England Primary Academy cover?

Acle Church of England Primary Academy for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are Acle Church of England Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 32% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Acle Church of England Primary Academy?

Acle Church of England Primary Academy is at Fletcher Way, Acle, Norwich, Norfolk, NR13 3RQ.