School Chooser

Barnham Broom Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Primary · ages 4-11MixedChurch of England94 pupilsNurseryNorwichNorfolk
School Chooser Score
11
Well below
similar schools
Likely range 5 to 27, so it could be “below”
Out of 100. Better than 7% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedNeeds attention teachingOfsted report card, June 2026
Reached the expected level at 1144%England 63%
Attendance94.9%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families10%Far fewer than most schools
Places32 spare94 pupils, 126 places
Pupils per teacher16.9School workforce census

Barnham Broom Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is a Church of England school (voluntary aided) in Norwich for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 94 pupils and room for 126. About 10 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 11 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 7% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted visited in June 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.

Norwich Road, Barnham Broom, Norwich, NR9 4BU01603 759656barnhambroomprimaryschool.co.ukMrs Heather Benson headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted visited on 23 June 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.

TeachingOfsted calls this “curriculum and teaching”
Needs attention
Achievement
Needs attention
Behaviour and attendanceOfsted calls this “attendance and behaviour”
As expected
Support for every childOfsted calls this “inclusion”
Needs attention
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development and wellbeing”
As expected
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and governance”
Needs attention
Early years
Needs attention
SafeguardingAre pupils kept safe?
Pupils are kept safe
Met
Ofsted's scale:ExceptionalStrong standardExpected standardNeeds attentionUrgent improvement

Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.

Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
19 March 2024S5 InspectionRequires improvement

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

18 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.

Reached the expected level at 1144%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level0%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score105.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score102.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 58%58%20172018: 68%68%20182019: 73%73%20192023: 50%50%20232024: 41%41%20242025: 44%44%2025
Since 2017: -14%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017NorfolkEngland
Pupils tested181720111919
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths44%41%50%73%68%58%56%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%18%11%5%5%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score105.0105.0106.0107.0106.0104.0104.6105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score102.0105.0104.0106.0106.0102.0103.2104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score103.0105.0102.0106.0108.0104.0103.2105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard72%59%75%91%74%84%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard50%71%75%100%89%68%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)50%47%70%82%89%84%
Reading progressReading progress score+2.4+2.6+2.2+0.0
Maths progressMaths progress score+2.3+1.5+2.4-2.0

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. None of the gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
33%56%
Gap 23 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

Plenty of spare places96 pupils for 126 places, 2024/25
76% full

30 places were empty (24% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 24% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Norfolk council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll94Census January 2026
Places12675% full
Pupils from low-income families10%10% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English11%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support17%16 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan5%5 pupils with a plan
Average class size22.33 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)9%£12,400 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls36 / 58
White British pupils81%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (8), Specific learning difficulty (6), emotional and mental health (5), Autistic spectrum disorder (1), Moderate learning difficulty (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll9498110123125138
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals10%13%17%14%9%7%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language11%9%6%6%1%1%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support19%22%12%21%17%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans3%2%2%2%0%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.9% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance94.9%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school6.3%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils3.12024/25, 1 permanent exclusion
Missed without permission0.9%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.1%7.1%6.2%7.3%3.7%3.1%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.2%5.7%4.8%5.6%2.9%2.3%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.9%1.4%1.4%1.7%0.8%0.8%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence6.3%15.1%12.9%18.3%10.8%3.9%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate3.110.07.311.20.7
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions10100

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers5.6full-time equivalent, 8 people
Pupils per teacher16.9Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers88%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants4.7full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£35,103
Teachers who left in the year24%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher2.02024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£8,920England £7,738. Total £874k
Income per pupil£8,771England £7,697. Total £860k
Spent on teachers per pupil£4,214England £3,480
Money in reserve2%Very little put by: £13k, £134 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£15kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£8,920spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m1012 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate25 per 1,000 people73% lower than the England average
Typical house price£300,000South Norfolk

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Barford Primary SchoolCouncil1.8 miles87Report card 202623Compare
Mattishall Primary SchoolAcademy3.1 miles164Good 202420Compare
Wicklewood Primary School and NurseryFoundation3.4 miles182No overall grade 202429Compare
Robert Kett Primary SchoolAcademy3.5 miles502Report card 202614Compare
Hockering Church of England Primary AcademyAcademy3.5 miles30No overall grade 202438Compare
Ashleigh Primary School and Nursery, WymondhamCouncil3.6 miles434Outstanding 202499Compare
St Peter's CofE Primary Academy, EastonAcademy3.7 miles185Good 202477Compare
Garvestone Community Primary SchoolAcademy3.9 miles56Not inspected12Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Barnham Broom Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School with the 44 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 44 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats7%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the bottom of its group. Its score of 11 is 48 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 7 · middle 59 · highest 94100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 44 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Barnham Broom Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Barford Primary SchoolCouncil1.8 miles87Report card 202623Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 11 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 11% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 5 to 27. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%in line
-0.07
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 18 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%well below
-0.52
Ofsted report card, 0.2 years old
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.08
DfE progress measure; 18 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%below
-0.06
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%above
+0.06
2024/25; 95 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well below
-0.14
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 18 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Barnham Broom Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School a good school?

The figures are weak. Barnham Broom Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School scores 11 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 7% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 5 to 27, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Barnham Broom Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 23 June 2026 it rated teaching as needs attention, achievement as needs attention, behaviour and attendance as as expected, leadership as needs attention.

How good are Barnham Broom Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 44% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.

How many pupils does Barnham Broom Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School have?

94 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 126 places, so it is 75% full.

Is Barnham Broom Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 30 places were empty in 2024/25 (24% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Barnham Broom Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School?

Pupils were in school 94.9% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 6% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Barnham Broom Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School?

The average class had 22.3 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Norwich Road, Barnham Broom, Norwich, NR9 4BU
Telephone
01603 759656
Website
www.barnhambroomprimaryschool.co.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Heather Benson
Type of school
Church of England school (voluntary aided) (Voluntary aided school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England, Diocese of Norwich
Local authority
Norfolk
Ward
Wicklewood
Constituency
Mid Norfolk
Setting
Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
121199 · LAESTAB 9265209 · UKPRN 10079224

Where these figures come from