Great Wilbraham CofE Primary Academy

Great Wilbraham CofE Primary Academy

Address: Church Street, Great Wilbraham, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB21 5JQ Unique reference number (URN): 150022

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders have designed an ambitious personal development programme that broadens pupils' horizons beyond their small school community. They combine a well-sequenced curriculum with an extensive range of experiences. Their personal development programme is suitably aligned with the school's context and supports their faith ethos. Teachers carefully consider the mixed-age classes, helping pupils of different ages to remember and understand content appropriate to their stage of development. Pupils know what makes a healthy relationship. They understand how to protect their physical and mental health and keep themselves safe, including online.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

The school ensures that pupils develop respect for people whose lives and beliefs differ from their own. Through the 'No Outsiders' programme, pupils explore diversity, inclusion and the importance of acceptance. They speak proudly about this learning, which is reflected in their respectful interactions. Pupils deepen their understanding of the Christian faith and values through a range of experiences, including assemblies, visits from the reverend and visits to places of worship, such as Ely Cathedral. Pupils appreciate the range of leadership opportunities they take part in, including an elected school council. These experiences help them deepen their understanding of British values, including mutual respect and democracy.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

The breadth and level of participation in enrichment is a particular strength for this small school. Carefully chosen clubs include lacrosse, fencing, choir and many other musical and sporting activities. Leaders ensure that trips complement classroom learning and introduce pupils to experiences beyond their immediate surroundings. The school monitors pupils' participation closely. They ensure disadvantaged pupils are fully included in these opportunities. Pupils across different ages participate and take pride in their achievements. Highly effective pastoral support complements this provision. The school responds quickly and well to pupils' needs. This significant support enables pupils to benefit from the wider life of the school.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders have a secure oversight of attendance and behaviour. They support pupils' regular attendance effectively and provide consistent support for pupils and families. Attendance is positive overall. Leaders work well with families to understand and address any barriers that might prevent regular attendance. They understand the importance of developing positive relationships with parents and carers. This close relationship with the community helps the school to respond effectively to individual needs.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Pupils behave well and are keen to do well in their learning. Staff ensure that pupils are helped to follow routines. In the newly formed classes, pupils are becoming familiar with expectations. Staff provide gentle reminders to help pupils stay focused on their learning. This ensures a calm and focused learning environment. Pupils are polite, friendly and welcoming. This includes pupils who are new to the school. These positive relationships contribute to a delightful school atmosphere. Pupils get along with each other well, take turns and share. Playtime is fun and active. Pupils act responsibly, clearing their trays and keeping the tables clean at lunchtime. Pupils are respectful towards others. They are confident that bullying does not happen. They have trusted adults to talk to who help them if there are any issues.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders identify pupils' needs promptly, including emerging special educational needs and/or disabilities. With additional support from across the trust, leaders ensure staff understand how to meet these needs appropriately. The school provides staff with helpful support plans with clear guidance on how best to help pupils. These targets are clear and accessible. They give staff a shared focus for the support they provide to individual pupils. Leaders monitor how well pupils progress against these targets and intervene where needed.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The school provides a range of support to reduce barriers to pupils’ learning and wellbeing. This includes rapid catch-up phonics teaching, a soft start to the school day and/or additional emotional support. As a result, pupils feel safe and secure. They enjoy coming to school and attend well. The extra support the school provides around promoting pupils’ sense of belonging and wellbeing is particularly effective.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders use the pupil premium funding effectively. They provide pupils with a range of support, including access to enrichment opportunities such as sports and phonics support. This broadens disadvantaged pupils' opportunities to participate in school life as well as helping them make academic progress.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The school does not currently make use of any off-site alternative provision.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The trust has overseen the school for 3 years. It has managed staffing changes and complex challenges well. This includes several changes to senior leaders within the school. A change in pupil numbers has required classes to be reorganised and the curriculum revised. Throughout these changes, leaders have maintained a caring school community. Pupils are consistently well looked after and attend regularly. Leaders ensure that the school's small size does not limit pupils' access to varied clubs, visits and responsibilities. Disadvantaged pupils receive support to participate in these opportunities. This helps them to play an active role in school life.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Those responsible for governance fulfil their statutory duties appropriately. This includes ensuring that the school's safeguarding arrangements are effective. Leaders understand the school's strengths and areas for improvement accurately. Trust monitoring is robust. They have strengthened educational oversight and taken effective action where needed to improve the quality of education that pupils receive. There is an appropriate professional learning programme in place. The impact on the quality of teaching is not yet consistent.

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Needs attention

Leaders are taking appropriate steps to help staff apply their professional learning consistently in the classroom.

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Needs attention

Staff and parents and carers speak positively about the school. Initiatives such as coffee mornings help to ensure that families feel welcomed and connected. Families value the care and support that their children receive. Staff morale remains high throughout a period of change. They feel their workload and wellbeing is well considered by leaders.

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Achievement Needs attention

Pupils typically achieve well in national assessments. However, cohorts are too small for published results to provide a reliable measure of achievement, including for disadvantaged pupils. Although many pupils achieve well in some subjects, including phonics, this is inconsistent. Some pupils are not sufficiently well prepared for their next steps in learning across subjects and year groups.

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Achievement Needs attention

Pupils generally demonstrate appropriate mathematical knowledge. However, some pupils have gaps in the foundational knowledge they need. In writing, this includes letter formation and spelling. Older pupils do not consistently demonstrate confident use of writing structures expected for their age.

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Achievement Needs attention

Across the wider curriculum, some pupils recall prior learning well. They make connections between what they have learned and make progress securely through the curriculum. However, other pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, have gaps in their learning that are not closing quickly enough. As a result, these pupils are not as well prepared for their next steps as they should be.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders are taking appropriate action to address variability in the curriculum and teaching. They have recently reorganised the school's mixed-age classes and refined the curriculum. These changes are recent. It is too early to evaluate the impact on pupils' learning over time.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The school has introduced appropriate phonics teaching and additional catch-up to support pupils to learn to read. This includes older pupils who previously did not benefit from this support. Leaders' work to address gaps in pupils' writing skills is at an early stage. Some pupils lack the knowledge and skills to write as well as they should.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have carefully considered how best to support mixed-age classes. The curriculum is well sequenced, including in mathematics. However, in some subjects, staff are not sufficiently clear about what pupils should learn by key points in the curriculum. Consequently, the work pupils receive does not consistently build on their previous learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The school is developing its use of assessment. Teachers do not always identify and address gaps in pupils' understanding promptly. Sometimes, adaptations to teaching do not fully reflect pupils' starting points or the help they need, including for some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This limits how securely these pupils learn the intended curriculum.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Typically, pupils enjoy lessons and appreciate their teachers' help. Many pupils achieve well, including in phonics and mathematics. Sometimes, pupils recall their previous learning confidently and link it to their current learning. However, across different ages, pupils' achievement is uneven. Some pupils have gaps in their knowledge and skills. Where this happens, pupils do not have the appropriate understanding to access the curriculum well. As a result, some pupils do not progress as well as they should from their starting points.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils enjoy belonging to this small Church of England school. They are happy and safe and benefit from a caring community. Parents and carers really value the support their children receive. If a pupil needs extra help with their wellbeing, they are well looked after. Pupils appreciate the individual support that staff give them. Many pupils take part in the school's before- and after-school activities. They greatly enjoy the games and interactions with their friends and the staff members. Pupils benefit from the wide variety of clubs, visits and extra responsibilities. Disadvantaged pupils receive extra support to ensure they participate alongside their peers.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils attend regularly. They benefit from warm, supportive relationships that help them to feel secure and valued. Pupils are confident that bullying does not happen. They are friendly and welcoming, including to new pupils joining the school. Pupils behave well in lessons and during playtime. They listen, share and take turns appropriately. As a result of calm behaviour, pupils can listen to their teachers. They work well without distractions. Pupils contribute to the positive school environment by taking responsibility, such as helping to clear up shared areas. These opportunities encourage independence and consideration for others. Children in Reception Year are becoming increasingly familiar with routines alongside their older classmates.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that teaching addresses gaps in pupils' knowledge and skills, particularly in writing, so that pupils develop the skills needed for their next steps in learning. Teachers should ensure that assessment informs adaptive teaching so that gaps in learning close promptly for pupils, including vulnerable pupils. Leaders should clarify what pupils should learn at key points in all subjects so that teaching in mixed-age classes builds consistently on pupils' previous learning.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This was the data available at the time of the full inspection, taken from different sources . More recent data may have been published since the full inspection took place.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The inspector(s) used this data during the full inspection on 10 September 2026

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About this inspection

This school is part of Act 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), Alison Anderson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Andrew Waring.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the CEO, deputy CEO, director of education, members of the trust central team, trustees and governors during the inspection.

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About this inspection

The school has a small number of children who attend early years. Due to the small numbers, this provision is not reported on separately. Inspectors gathered evidence about the experiences and outcomes of these pupils, and this evidence is included in the inspection findings above. At the time of inspection, Nursery-age children had not yet started attending the school.

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About this inspection

This school is registered as having a Church of England religious character. It is in the Diocese of Ely. Its last section 48 inspection was on 23 June 2025.

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About this inspection

The school currently uses no alternative provision.

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About this inspection

At the time of the inspection, there were 53 pupils on roll.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational needs support at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English indices of deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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average

2024/25 (final) 70% 62% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2024/25 (final) 80% 74% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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average

‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care. services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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