Eyke Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Eyke Church of England Primary School The Street, Eyke, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 2QW

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Outcome

Eyke Church of England Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Lucie Fairweather. This school is part of the St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocesan Multi-Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Tracey Caffull, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Andrew Bilt.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, parents and staff feel part of the ‘Eyke family’. Pupils are happy and nurtured in all aspects of their development at this warm and welcoming school. The school’s vision of ‘If you can believe, all things are possible’ is a clear underpinning mindset for its work.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There are consistently high expectations for pupils’ conduct and achievement. Staff and pupils work together to make sure these expectations are fulfilled. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage in their education. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school’s work.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have a wide variety of opportunities in addition to the academic curriculum, which builds their character and confidence. There are a broad range of clubs that develop pupils’ talents and interests. Most notably, the music programme gives them opportunities to perform to a very high standard in the choirs and ensembles, both in the school and locally. The school and parents are proud of the quality of the pupils’ singing.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leadership opportunities prepare pupils for their day-to-day responsibilities. Pupils belong to a range of committees, for example, the restorative justice, health and safety and play 18 March 2025

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leader committees. Pupils are proud to take part in these roles and see it as their way of contributing to improving the school.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has a well-designed and ambitious curriculum that interests pupils and helps to build their knowledge and skills from Reception to Year 6. Staff have strong subject knowledge that they use well to deliver lessons in an engaging way. In most subjects, the school clearly identifies the most important knowledge that pupils need to learn. Consequently, in these curriculum areas teachers know what to focus on in their teaching. They check carefully that pupils remember key knowledge. As a result, pupils achieve well. Pupils talk confidently about their learning. They recall previous knowledge using appropriate, specific vocabulary.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

In a few areas of the curriculum, sometimes it is not as clear what knowledge the school wants pupils to learn. When this is the case, it is difficult for teachers to make explicit links to prior learning to help secure pupils’ understanding. In addition, in these areas of the curriculum, the school does not check well enough what pupils remember over time. As a result, pupils do not build their knowledge as securely in these subjects.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Reading is at the heart of the school’s curriculum. Staff expertly deliver phonics consistently throughout the school, starting in the early years. Pupils who are at the early stage of learning to read, and those who have fallen behind, quickly gain the knowledge and skills they need to become confident, fluent readers.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Pupils enjoy the wide range of high-quality texts that they have access to. The school carefully chooses a diverse range of books that pupils will experience in the curriculum. This gives them a rich menu of texts before they leave the school and deepens pupils’ understanding in a range of subject areas. This inspires a love of reading.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

As a result of leaders’ changes to the curriculum, pupils have a strong grasp of grammatical concepts. As a result of the high expectations that have strengthened the curriculum, pupils have opportunities to write independently and at length across the curriculum to apply their knowledge and demonstrate their ability to write accurately in a range of styles.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school identifies and supports the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities well. Staff adapt learning, including providing suitable extra resources, to meet pupils’ individual needs and to support them to access the full curriculum and achieve well. The school works closely with parents to help pupils to take an active part in school life.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Pupils have very positive attitudes towards their education. This begins in the early years. The school makes sure its approach to behaviour is clear and consistent. The school has equally high expectations of pupils’ attendance. The school works with families to remove potential barriers to pupils attending school. As a result, most pupils attend school regularly. 18 March 2025

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The personal, social and health education programme is firmly in place. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe, including when online. The school ensures pupils learn about different lifestyles and beliefs found in modern society. Pupils show a strong understanding of equality and diversity and speak about a range of topics with sensitivity.

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Governors and the trust monitor the school effectively, supporting curriculum improvements and teacher development. Staff are proud of and enjoy working at the school. School leaders consider staff’s workload. Staff feel heard and valued in the same way that pupils feel listened to and cared for. This reinforces the community ethos of the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, the curriculum does not clearly identify the important knowledge pupils should learn. Sometimes, activities do not help pupils to connect previous learning to new content. As a result, pupils do not have a secure understanding in these subjects. The school should ensure that the curriculum clearly identifies the key knowledge that pupils need to learn so that learning activities help pupils to build their knowledge and understanding securely in these subjects.  In a few areas of the curriculum, checks on how well pupils retain key knowledge over time are not well developed. This means that the school does not have a sufficiently accurate picture of how securely pupils learn some of its intended curriculum. Sometimes, this limits how well the school helps pupils to learn essential knowledge. The school should strengthen its assessment processes in these subjects to identify any

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

gaps in pupils’ learning and use this information to inform its curriculum delivery.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a 18 March 2025

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school’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in October 2019.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, 'disadvantaged pupils' is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 18 March 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 8 and 9 October 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This is a small school comprising of three mixed-age classes and a Reception class.  The school is part of the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. The school has a religious character and was last inspected under section 48 of the Education Act 2005 on 11 March 2020. The school’s next section 48 inspection will be within eight school years of that date.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 18 March 2025

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 Inspectors held meetings with leaders, including the CEO, the head of professional development for the trust, the headteacher, senior teacher, subject leaders and members of the local governing body, including the chair.  Inspectors visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and their wider school experience, looked at a sample of the children’s work and listened to a small sample of pupils read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors reviewed school documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation, school development plan, trust evaluation documents and minutes of meetings of the local governing body.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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 Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, which included free-text responses, and the staff survey responses.

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Inspection team

Ashley Best-White, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Cassandra Williams Ofsted Inspector 18 March 2025

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achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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