SchoolFacts.uk

Valley Primary Academy

Primary · Norwich · NR5 8XZ

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Requires improvement

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: Requires improvementBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 6 June 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

153 pupils · 73% of 210 capacity

School type
Academy sponsor led
Age range
5–11
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
42.5% of pupils
English as additional language
38.3% of pupils
SEN support
26.5% of pupils
EHC plan
9.9% of pupils
URN
151308

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

0.92 first-choice applications per place

12 places offered · 11 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

Applications and offers on national offer day, DfE. A ratio above 1.00 means more families named this school first choice than there were places.

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

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

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
67%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
0%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
105
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
102
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025. “Suppressed” means the DfE withholds figures for very small cohorts.

Schools with a similar intake

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

This school67%
Median of its 12 closest peers51%
Norfolk average56.2%
England62%

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

The twelve below are matched on intake alone, from every state school in England, so most are not local. They are the evidence behind the comparison above, not a shortlist. For schools you could realistically apply to, see nearby schools.

SchoolOfstedResult
Ladybridge Primary SchoolCheadle · 152 miles awayGood43%
Windale Primary SchoolOxford · 122 miles awayGood73%
St Mark's CofE Primary SchoolBrighton · 138 miles awayGood33%
Redcastle Family SchoolThetford · 27 miles awayGood70%
St Matthew's Church of England Primary SchoolStockport · 151 miles awayGood19%
Grace Mary Primary SchoolOldbury · 138 miles awayOutstanding (2019)80%
Nantwich Primary AcademyNantwich · 160 miles awayGood61%
Southtown Primary SchoolGreat Yarmouth · 20 miles awayNeeds attention43%
Holy Cross Catholic School, a Voluntary AcademyLeicester · 100 miles awayGood45%
Christ The King Catholic Primary SchoolReading · 126 miles awayNeeds attention57%
Old Oak Primary SchoolLondon · 100 miles awayGood39%
Forster Park Primary SchoolLewisham · 99 miles awayGood68%

The 12 state schools in England whose intake most closely matches this one: same phase and admissions type, and as near as the data allows on size, free school meals, English as an additional language, SEN and the child poverty of the surrounding area (IDACI 2025). Matching uses only characteristics a school does not choose. It is not a ranking, and a close match on intake does not make two schools interchangeable: sixth form, faith character, admissions rules and plain geography all matter and are not in the calculation. Results: DfE performance tables, 2024/2025. How the matching works.

Attendance (2025/26 autumn term)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
4.8%
England 6.5%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
12.4%
England 18.1%

Autumn-term absence, DfE pupil absence data. Lower is better.

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
16.6
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

83% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 8% moved to another state school · 8% left the state-funded sector

School Workforce Census, DfE. The ratio counts full-time-equivalent qualified teachers; retention follows teachers in post one November to the next. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Spending per pupil

This school£8,784
Typical primary school£6,959

Total expenditure ÷ pupils, academy finance return (DfE Schools Financial Benchmarking, latest year). Higher spending is not a measure of quality. It often reflects greater pupil need or a smaller school. Open Government Licence v3.0.

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

English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG), decile of the small area the school stands in: 1 is the most deprived tenth of England, 10 the least. IDACI counts only children in low-income families, which is the measure closest to the intake a school is likely to draw on.

Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher20.1%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications26.6%18.1%
In managerial or professional work16.8%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways35.6%18.1%
Residents in very good health38.9%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier28.9%62.3%
Social housing62.7%17.1%
Privately rented8.3%20.5%
Detached houses3.3%22.9%
Flats40.6%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms4.6%21.1%
Households with no car or van37.1%23.5%

Census 2021 (ONS) for statistical area E01026869 (a lower layer super output area), the neighbourhood of roughly 1,180 adults that the school stands in. These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Children travel in from further away, and for selective, faith and some other schools usually much further. Open Government Licence v3.0.

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£230,000236 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to July 2026
Typical range
£200,000–£276,500the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (59)£295,000
Semi-detached (78)£239,000
Terraced (82)£209,000
Flat (17)£140,000

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

Every residential sale registered with HM Land Registry within 1 km of the school (straight line) since January 2024, market sales of houses and flats only. A sale is dated by completion and registered weeks later, so the most recent months are incomplete. 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
2an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
9an urban school averages 5.8
All reported collisions
35an urban school averages 30.6
Of those, serious or fatal
6an urban school averages 6.1

Every collision reported to the police within 500 m of the school in 2021–2025, from the Department for Transport's road casualty statistics (STATS19). "Child pedestrians" counts casualties aged under 16 on foot; "school-run times" means weekdays 07:30–09:00 and 15:00–16:30 outside August. A high count usually says the school sits on or near a busy road, not that the school is unsafe: counts rise with traffic and with how built-up an area is, which is why the comparison is with other urban schools. Distances are straight-line from the school's recorded position. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Nearby schools