SCHOOL PROFILE

Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Primary Voluntary controlled school URN 124749
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 315 Published school capacity
Capacity used 86.7% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

8 May 2025
Latest published outcome Good
OEIF
Quality of education Good
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Good
INSPECTION HISTORY

Previous Ofsted activity

10 March 2020
Graded inspection Good
Published 10 May 2020
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Voluntary controlled school
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Church of England
Local authority Suffolk
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 273 262 full-time · 11 part-time
Female pupils 132 48.4% of pupils
Male pupils 141 51.6% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

11.4%
13.4 pts below England
School 11.4%
Babergh 18.3%
East of England 19.7%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

1.8%
18.5 pts below England
School 1.8%
Babergh 5.2%
East of England 16.4%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.0%
1.0 pts below England
School 0.0%
Babergh 1.8%
East of England 1.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
89.0%
243
White and Black African
2.2%
6
Unclassified
1.5%
4
White and Black Caribbean
1.5%
4
Any other Mixed background
1.1%
3
White and Asian
1.1%
3
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 15.4% 42 of 273 pupils
5.4 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 15.4%
Babergh 23.9%
East of England 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 14.3% 39 pupils
England 14.8% 0.5 pts below
EHC plans 1.1% 3 pupils
England 6.0% 4.9 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 9
Other difficulty or disability 8
Social, emotional & mental health 7
Autistic spectrum disorder 6
Specific learning difficulty 5
Moderate learning difficulty 3

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

63.0% 2.6 pts above England
School 63.0%
Babergh 60.0%
East of England 58.3%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

87.0%

13.2 pts above England

School 87.0%
Babergh 75.4%
East of England 72.9%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

79.0%

8.7 pts above England

School 79.0%
Babergh 69.9%
East of England 68.0%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

68.0%

4.0 pts below England

School 68.0%
Babergh 71.0%
East of England 70.3%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

4.27%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

1.94 pts lower than England
School 4.27%
Babergh 5.86%
East of England 6.17%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

5.96%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

9.86 pts lower than England
School 5.96%
Babergh 14.08%
East of England 15.39%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.00%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.80 pts lower than England
School 0.00%
Babergh 1.50%
East of England 1.83%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

86.7% 1.5 pts below England
Capel St Mary Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School
86.7%
Babergh
82.9%
East of England
87.4%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information