Iceni Primary Academy

Overview

Iceni Primary Academy is described as a school where pupils benefit from a “personalised approach” and feel “safe and secure.” Leaders have successfully managed the transition to a separate primary academy, maintaining high staff morale and strong community links. The report highlights a “calm, orderly and welcoming” environment where pupils are well supported to overcome barriers to learning.

Strengths

• Attendance is high across all groups, supported by a “tenacious and detailed approach” and close partnership with families.
• Inclusion is highly effective, with “carefully considered adaptations” ensuring all pupils, including those with SEND, access the full curriculum.
• Behaviour is excellent; bullying is “rare” and addressed swiftly, with pupils taught to “self-regulate” independently.
• Leadership is “unwavering and highly effective,” with robust monitoring and a clear strategic vision of “belonging and becoming.”
• Pupils achieve above national averages in reading, writing, and mathematics, with sustained progress for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.

Areas to improve

• Teaching should provide more opportunities for pupils to “apply and extend their knowledge” to maximise progress, particularly for higher-attaining pupils.
• Checks on learning must be used more precisely to ensure pupils develop “detailed knowledge and understanding” in the wider curriculum.
• Some pupils require additional support to “secure and deepen their understanding” of personal development content.

Safeguarding

The safeguarding standards are met, with leaders establishing an “open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility” and concerns actively identified and managed.