Great Wilbraham CofE Primary Academy

Great Wilbraham CofE Primary Academy is a very small Church of England school, part of Act Academy Trust, with 53 pupils on roll and mixed-age classes that have recently been reorganised after staffing and pupil-number changes. Inspectors found a caring, welcoming community where pupils are happy, safe and attend regularly, and where behaviour is calm and positive. The school’s personal development and wellbeing provision is a standout strength, with an ambitious programme, wide enrichment opportunities and strong pastoral care, including for disadvantaged pupils. The school is securely led and governed, with robust trust monitoring and effective safeguarding. Inclusion is also a positive feature: needs are identified promptly, support plans are clear, and pupils benefit from phonics catch-up and wellbeing support. However, achievement and the quality of curriculum and teaching are not yet consistent. Some pupils have gaps in foundational knowledge and skills, particularly in writing, and are not always well prepared for their next steps. The report highlights that curriculum thinking in some subjects does not make clear enough what pupils should learn at key points, and assessment is not yet used consistently to adapt teaching and close gaps promptly, including for some pupils with SEND. Leaders are taking appropriate action, but the impact of recent curriculum changes and professional learning is not yet secure across the school.

Strengths

• Ambitious personal development programme broadens pupils' horizons and reflects the school's faith ethos.
• Extensive enrichment clubs, trips and leadership opportunities, with disadvantaged pupils supported to take part.
• Highly effective pastoral support responds quickly to pupils' needs.
• Pupils are polite, friendly, welcoming and behave well in lessons and at playtime.
• Attendance is positive, with effective support for pupils and families.
• Pupils feel safe and are confident that bullying does not happen.
• SEND needs are identified promptly and clear support plans give staff a shared focus.
• Rapid phonics catch-up and wellbeing support help reduce barriers to learning.
• Pupil premium funding is used effectively to broaden opportunities and support progress.
• Trust monitoring is robust and leaders have maintained a caring community through change.
• Staff morale is high and leaders consider workload and wellbeing well.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement is uneven, with some pupils not sufficiently prepared for their next steps across subjects and year groups.
• Some pupils have gaps in foundational knowledge, including letter formation, spelling and older pupils' writing structures.
• Curriculum clarity is inconsistent in some subjects about what pupils should learn at key points.
• Teaching does not consistently build on pupils' previous learning in mixed-age classes.
• Assessment is not always used promptly to identify and address gaps in understanding.
• Adaptive teaching does not always reflect pupils' starting points or the support they need, including some with SEND.
• Some disadvantaged pupils' gaps in learning are not closing quickly enough.
• The impact of professional learning on teaching quality is not yet consistent.
• Recent curriculum and class changes are too recent to show impact over time.

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 Great Wilbraham CofE Primary Academy attended 96.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.1% 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, 1.2% of pupils at Great Wilbraham CofE 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 Great Wilbraham CofE Primary Academy had 12.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 50.0% 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, 18.2% of pupils at Great Wilbraham CofE Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.3% 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 Great Wilbraham CofE Primary Academy received £7,831 and spent £7,929 for each of its 83 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £44,000 (£530 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of Act Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,445 and spending £7,474 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

Great Wilbraham CofE Primary Academy is part of Act Multi Academy Trust, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• Burrough Green CofE Primary Academy Newmarket
• St Mary's Church of England Primary School St Neots St Neots
• Buckden CofE Primary School St Neots
• Saint Michael CofE Primary School Peterborough

What is Great Wilbraham CofE Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Great Wilbraham CofE Primary Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Great Wilbraham CofE Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Great Wilbraham CofE Primary Academy was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Great Wilbraham CofE Primary Academy have?

Great Wilbraham CofE Primary Academy has 77 pupils on roll.

What age range does Great Wilbraham CofE Primary Academy cover?

Great Wilbraham CofE Primary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Great Wilbraham CofE Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Great Wilbraham CofE Primary Academy?

Great Wilbraham CofE Primary Academy is at Church Street, Great Wilbraham, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB21 5JQ.