SchoolFacts.uk

St Helen's Primary School

Primary · Ipswich · IP4 2LT

Data updated

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Good

Earlier grade, confirmed by a later ungraded inspection

Ofsted's most recent (ungraded) visit confirmed the school remains Good. Ungraded inspections do not award a new grade.

Inspected 4 July 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

439 pupils · 93% of 472 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
3–11
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
30.3% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
54.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
14% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
2.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
www.sthelensprimary.net
URN
141819

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 38 families named it first for 39 Reception places, 0.97 first choices per place. We hold 5 Reception admissions rounds for it, 2022 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. An ungraded Ofsted inspection on 4 July 2023 confirmed its earlier grade, Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6.3% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

0.97 first-choice applications per place

39 places offered · 38 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

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One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2026, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

59 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
53%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
10%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
103
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
103
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school53%
Median of its 12 closest peers65%
Suffolk average59.9%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
Thornbury Primary Leadership AcademyBradford · 170 miles awayGood79%
Nishkam Primary School WolverhamptonWolverhampton · 144 miles awayGood89%
St Chrysostom's CofE Primary SchoolManchester · 172 miles awayExpected standard71%
Stoke Primary SchoolCoventry · 115 miles awayRequires improvement60%
Bignold Primary School and NurseryNorwich · 40 miles awayGood57%
John Gulson Primary SchoolCoventry · 116 miles awayGood67%
Norton Road Primary SchoolLuton · 69 miles awayGood43%
Beechfield SchoolWatford · 72 miles awayStrong standard72%
Parkinson Lane Community Primary SchoolHalifax · 171 miles awayOutstanding61%
Keys Meadow Primary SchoolEnfield · 57 miles awayGood63%
Howard Primary SchoolCroydon · 72 miles awayExpected standard71%
The Lincoln Bishop King Church of England Primary SchoolLincoln · 107 miles awayNeeds attention45%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 33% (Suffolk 76%, England 60%) · Any other White background 12% (Suffolk 7%, England 7%) · Asian Bangladeshi 9% (Suffolk 1%, England 2%) · White Gypsy/Roma 8% (Suffolk 1%, England 0%) · Asian Indian 7% (Suffolk 2%, England 4%) · Any other Mixed background 7% (Suffolk 3%, England 3%) · Black African 7% (Suffolk 2%, England 5%) · Not recorded 5% (Suffolk 1%, England 1%) · Any other ethnic group 4% (Suffolk 2%, England 3%) · Any other Asian background 3% (Suffolk 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Suffolk 1%, England 2%) · Black Caribbean 1% (Suffolk 0%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Suffolk 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Suffolk 2%, England 2%) · other groups together 1%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
6.3%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
19.2%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

6.21 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Suffolk: 5.10 suspensions and 0.08 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
22
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

87% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 13% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, primary academies: 0.3% vacant, 0.32% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

61.9% of teachers took sickness absence, 8 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £47,330; 20% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£6,046
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 88% (77%) · premises 2% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 7% (8%) · supplies and services 3% (9%) · educational supplies 2% (4%) · bought-in professional services 0% (2%) · catering 0% (5%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £81,000; in-year balance +£270,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
1/10among the most deprived tenth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
1/10among the most deprived tenth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher28.8%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications22.9%18.1%
In managerial or professional work24%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways30.9%18.1%
Residents in very good health42.9%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier18.8%62.3%
Social housing37.3%17.1%
Privately rented43.3%20.5%
Detached houses2.5%22.9%
Flats76.8%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms6.3%21.1%
Households with no car or van53%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01033129 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£195,000637 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£149,000–£250,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (31)£335,000
Semi-detached (145)£243,000
Terraced (256)£195,500
Flat (205)£135,000

Homes around this school are cheaper than three quarters of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
7an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
12an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
58an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
14an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools