School Chooser

Ickworth Park Primary School

Primary · ages 5-11MixedAcademy185 pupilsBury St EdmundsSuffolk
School Chooser Score
81
Above
similar schools
Likely range 56 to 92, so it could be “well above”
Out of 100. Better than 84% of the 50 schools most like it.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, June 2024
Reached the expected level at 1175%England 63%
Attendance96.7%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families14%Far fewer than most schools
Places25 spare185 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher21.6School workforce census

Ickworth Park Primary School is a converter academy in Bury St Edmunds for boys and girls aged 5 to 11. It has 185 pupils and room for 210. About 14 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 81 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 84% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

Meadow Drive, Horringer, Meadow Drive, Bury St Edmunds, IP29 5SB01284 735337ickworthpark.co.ukMrs Kirsten Steele headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 19 June 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

28 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. These are the results of Ickworth Park Primary School, the school this one replaced.

Reached the expected level at 1175%
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 score108.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score105.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 54%54%20172018: 88%88%20182019: 67%67%20192023: 68%68%20232024: 73%73%20242025: 75%75%2025
Since 2017: +21%
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure2025†2024†2023†2019†2018†2017†SuffolkEngland
Pupils tested28262221813
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths75%73%68%67%88%54%60%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%4%9%14%0%8%7%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score108.0107.0107.0107.0105.0105.0105.2105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score105.0105.0107.0106.0106.0103.0103.7104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score103.0104.0105.0105.0103.0107.0103.8105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard89%85%82%71%88%77%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard89%88%86%76%88%62%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)82%81%73%71%88%100%
Reading progressReading progress score+2.1-2.0+0.5-3.9
Maths progressMaths progress score+2.9-3.6+2.4-5.5

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.

† These results are for Ickworth Park Primary School, the school this one replaced in January 2025. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

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
71%86%
Gap 15 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.

Plenty of spare places200 pupils for 240 places, 2024/25
83% full

40 places were empty (17% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in.

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 Suffolk 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 roll185Census January 2026
Places21088% full
Pupils from low-income families14%14% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English3%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support11%21 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan5%9 pupils with a plan
Average class size26.47 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils29%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)13%£37,200 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls87 / 98
White British pupils91%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 22.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 29.8 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (11), Autistic spectrum disorder (6), emotional and mental health (4), Specific learning difficulty (4), Moderate learning difficulty (3), Physical disability (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census20262025
Pupils on roll185197
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals14%12%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language3%3%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support11%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans2%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance96.7%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school4.1%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils1.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.7%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/24†2022/23†2021/22†2020/21†2018/19†England
Sessions missedOverall absence3.3%4.0%4.2%6.5%2.4%3.9%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence2.6%3.1%3.4%6.0%2.3%3.3%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.7%0.9%0.8%0.5%0.1%0.6%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence4.1%4.4%4.1%15.2%1.8%4.6%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate1.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions0

† These attendance figures are for Ickworth Park Primary School, the school this one replaced in January 2025. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Staff and money

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

Teachers8.6full-time equivalent, 12 people
Pupils per teacher21.6Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants7.5full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£46,793
Vacancies0

Money

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

Money in reserve7%Not much put by: £55k, £278 per pupil
Money in against money out-£40kit spent more than it took in this year

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 m712 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate31 per 1,000 people66% lower than the England average
Typical house price£290,000West Suffolk
Nearest bus stop40 mSchool, 5 stops within 500 m

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
Westgate Community Primary School and NurseryCouncil1.7 miles301Good 20228Compare
Sexton's Manor Primary SchoolAcademy2.0 miles165Not inspected1Compare
St Edmund's Catholic Primary SchoolAcademy2.1 milesNot inspectedCompare
Hardwick Primary SchoolAcademy2.2 miles190Good 202418Compare
St Edmundsbury CofE Primary AcademyAcademy2.3 miles168Requires improvement 20241Compare
Guildhall Feoffment Community Primary SchoolCouncil2.3 miles328No overall grade 202582Compare
Learning Support, Western Area Education OfficeMiscellaneous2.4 milesNot inspectedCompare
Howard Community AcademyAcademy2.8 miles210No overall grade 202519Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Ickworth Park Primary School with the 50 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 50 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats84%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the top quarter of its group. Its score of 81 is 20 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 16 · middle 61 · highest 100100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 50 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Ickworth Park 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
Wickhambrook Primary AcademyAcademy6.4 miles180No overall grade 202490Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 81 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 81% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 56 to 92. 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 years0%no data
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.03
Ofsted grade, 2.2 years old
Progress pupils make0%no data
Direction of travel over five years0%no data
Attendance and behaviour10%well above
+0.39
2024/25; 172 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils0%no data
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 Ickworth Park Primary School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Ickworth Park Primary School scores 81 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 84% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 56 to 92, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Ickworth Park Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Ickworth Park Primary School good at its last full inspection on 19 June 2024.

How good are Ickworth Park Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 75% 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.

How many pupils does Ickworth Park Primary School have?

185 pupils aged 5 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 88% full.

Is Ickworth Park Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 40 places were empty in 2024/25 (17% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Ickworth Park Primary School?

Pupils were in school 96.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 4% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Ickworth Park Primary School?

The average class had 26.4 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 29% of classes 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
Meadow Drive, Horringer, Meadow Drive, Bury St Edmunds, IP29 5SB
Telephone
01284 735337
Website
www.ickworthpark.co.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Kirsten Steele
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 5-11
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
All Saints Schools Trust (16 schools)
Local authority
Suffolk
Ward
Horringer
Constituency
West Suffolk
Setting
Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
Opened
1 January 2025 (academy converter)
URN
151388 · LAESTAB 9352921 · UKPRN 10096568
Formerly
Ickworth Park Primary School

Where these figures come from