Iceni Primary Academy

Iceni Primary Academy is performing strongly in several important areas, with safeguarding standards met. Attendance and behaviour, inclusion, and leadership and governance are all strong. Pupils attend well, feel safe and are well supported, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils. The school has a calm, orderly and welcoming culture, and leaders have managed the transition from predecessor school to a separate primary academy effectively. Pupils achieve above national averages at the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6, and pupils with SEND make sustained progress. The curriculum is taught well overall, with a clear priority on reading, writing, spelling and mathematics, and children in early years get off to a positive start. Personal development is well thought out and pupils benefit from a wide range of opportunities and experiences. The main areas for development are in the wider curriculum and in extending pupils who can work at a higher standard. In some wider-curriculum subjects, pupils’ knowledge and understanding are not as detailed as they should be. Teaching does not consistently deepen and extend learning for higher-attaining pupils, and in early years some activities are not used as well as they could be to deepen children’s knowledge. Some pupils also need more support to secure and deepen their understanding of personal development content.

Strengths

• Safeguarding has an open and positive culture, and legal requirements are met.
• Attendance is high for all groups, including pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
• Leaders take a tenacious and detailed approach to improving attendance.
• Staff work closely with families to provide bespoke wellbeing support.
• Pupils settle quickly at the start of the day and are well supported with transition.
• Bullying is rare and is addressed swiftly and effectively when it occurs.
• There is no low-level disruption, and the school is consistently calm and orderly.
• Pupils are taught to self-regulate and apply this independently.
• Inclusion is highly tailored and consistent across the school.
• Staff identify pupils’ needs early and accurately and know pupils extremely well.
• Adaptations are used thoughtfully for any pupil who needs support, not only those with SEND.
• Pupils with SEND have targets precisely matched to their needs and make sustained progress.
• Leaders know the school extremely well and have a clear vision of belonging and becoming.
• The trust, trustees and local governors provide effective challenge and support.
• Staff morale is high, and parents and carers praise the school.
• Pupils achieve above national averages at the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• Reading attainment is particularly high.
• Pupils who were reluctant writers now sustain longer pieces of writing.
• The recent focus on spellings has had a positive impact.
• Staff have the expertise to teach reading, writing, spelling and mathematics well.
• The curriculum develops a rich vocabulary and exposes pupils to a range of literature.
• Pupils particularly enjoy music, practical science experiments and visits.
• Interventions are timely and appropriate, and staff check that support is working.
• Children in early years make a positive start and achieve well.
• Phonics is taught well in early years.
• The early years curriculum builds knowledge logically, especially in early reading, writing and mathematics.
• The personal development programme meets statutory requirements and is responsive to pupils’ needs.
• Pupils learn about life beyond their local area and the diverse society they live in.
• Leaders ensure all pupils can access wider opportunities and experiences.
• Enhanced playtimes give pupils the chance to problem-solve, collaborate and manage risk.
• Pupils know and follow the school values of being kind, working hard and aiming high.
• Pupils take an active part in community life and fundraising.

Areas for Improvement

• In some wider-curriculum subjects, pupils’ knowledge and understanding are not as detailed as they should be.
• Teaching does not consistently deepen and extend knowledge for pupils who can work at the higher standard.
• In early years, some chosen activities are not used as effectively as they could be to deepen children’s knowledge and understanding.
• Some pupils need more support to secure and deepen their understanding of personal development content.
• Pupils attain more highly in reading than in writing and mathematics at the higher standards, and leaders are rightly focusing on improving this.

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 Iceni Primary Academy attended 96.4% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Iceni 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 Iceni Primary Academy had 20.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.5% 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, 18.4% of pupils at Iceni Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.8% 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 Iceni Primary Academy received £7,291 and spent £7,880 for each of its 105 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £19,000 (£178 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of Academy Transformation Trust, income was £9,055 and spending £8,540 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 King'S Lynn And West Norfolk · Norfolk local authority: places and applications

Iceni Primary Academy is part of Academy Transformation Trust, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• Iceni Secondary Academy Thetford
• Beck Row Primary Academy Bury St Edmunds
• Great Heath Academy Bury St Edmunds
• Mildenhall College Academy Mildenhall
• The Nicholas Hamond Academy Swaffham
• Westbourne Academy Ipswich
• Ravens Academy Clacton-On-Sea
• Kingsmoor Academy Harlow
• The Hathaway Academy Grays
• The Dukeries Academy Newark

What is Iceni Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Iceni Primary Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in January 2026.

When was Iceni Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Iceni Primary Academy was last inspected in January 2026.

How many pupils does Iceni Primary Academy have?

Iceni Primary Academy has 103 pupils on roll.

What age range does Iceni Primary Academy cover?

Iceni Primary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Iceni Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 80% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Iceni Primary Academy?

Iceni Primary Academy is at 98 Main Street, Hockwold Cum Wilton, Norfolk, IP26 4LP.