Barrow Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

West Suffolk · IP29 5AU

General information Primary School · 4-11 years Who goes here 199 pupils, 9.5% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted and results

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 9% on SEN support Behaviour 3.1% absence rate Staff 2.1% turnover Financials £6,532 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Barrow Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

General Information

Address: Colethorpe Lane, Barrow, Bury St Edmunds, IP29 5AU – View on map
Phone: 01284810223
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Helen Ashe
Age range: 4-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 22 families put it first for 26 places – 8 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 12 · 2024 11 · 2025 10 · 2026 8
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

199 pupils out of 210 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 19
% eligible for free school meals: 9.5%
Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (less mixed than the West Suffolk average)
English as an additional language: 1% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 2.1% a year (West Suffolk 15.7%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 0% moved to another school, 100% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Suffolk: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 20 (0.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 1
Suspensions for bullying: 14 (0.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 1 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Suffolk (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 3.1%
Persistently absent pupils: 5.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 9.0%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.0%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 8 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 7 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils
Severe learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Vision impairment: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

No overall grade given 2024 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted stopped giving single overall grades for a period between September 2024 and November 2025 - this school's most recent inspection falls in that window, so there's no single rating to show, even though it was inspected. The full report (linked below) still has the detail.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 67% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 10% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 7 percentage points above the West Suffolk average (60%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (3-year average 63% against an expected 69%)
3-year average (expected standard): 63%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 77% · Writing 77% · Maths 73% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 67%
Average test scores: reading 105, maths 103
Based on: 30 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolWest Suffolk averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 7 percentage points above the West Suffolk average (60%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 16th of 47 junior and primary schools in the area

=14Sebert Wood Community Primary School68%
=14Tollgate Primary School68%
=16Barrow Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School67%
=16Great Barton Church of England Primary Academy67%
=16West Row Academy67%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Kedington Primary Academy84%
#2Moulton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School83%
#3Abbots Green Primary Academy82%
=4Coupals Primary Academy77%
=4St Christopher's CEVCP School77%
=6Exning Primary School75%
=6Place Farm Primary Academy75%
#8Thurlow Voluntary Controlled Primary School73%
=9Beck Row Primary Academy71%
=9Great Whelnetham Church of England Primary School71%
=9Paddocks Primary School71%
#12Wickhambrook Primary Academy70%
#13Guildhall Feoffment Community Primary School69%
=14Sebert Wood Community Primary School68%
=14Tollgate Primary School68%
=16Barrow Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School67%
=16Great Barton Church of England Primary Academy67%
=16West Row Academy67%
#19Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy65%
=20Laureate Community Academy64%
=20Rougham Church of England Primary School64%
=20St Louis Catholic Academy64%
#23The Pines Primary School61%
#24Glade Academy58%
=25Barnham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School57%
=25Burton End Primary Academy57%
=25Clements Primary Academy57%
=25Elveden Church of England Primary Academy57%
=29Great Heath Academy55%
=29Westfield Primary Academy55%
=31Forest Academy54%
=31Risby Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School54%
=33Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School50%
=33Clare Community Primary School50%
=33New Cangle Community Primary School50%
#36All Saints Church of England Primary School, Newmarket48%
=37Lakenheath Community Primary School45%
=37St Felix Roman Catholic Primary School, Haverhill45%
=39Bardwell Church of England Primary School43%
=39Hundon Community Primary School43%
#41Ixworth Church of England Primary School40%
#42Westgate Community Primary School and Nursery39%
#43Howard Community Academy36%
#44Hardwick Primary School35%
#45St Mary's Church of England Academy31%
#46Sexton's Manor Primary School27%
#47St Edmundsbury CofE Primary Academy25%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,532 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

23rd of 48 primary schools in West Suffolk for spending per pupil

#21The Pines Primary School£6,595
#22Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy£6,533
#23Barrow Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School£6,532
#24Forest Academy£6,433
#25Paddocks Primary School£6,422

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Hundon Community Primary School£8,578
#2Exning Primary School£8,389
#3Barningham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School£8,246
#4Bardwell Church of England Primary School£8,085
#5St Edmundsbury CofE Primary Academy£7,799
#6Barnham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School£7,655
#7Clements Primary Academy£7,447
#8Sexton's Manor Primary School£7,420
#9Great Whelnetham Church of England Primary School£7,341
#10Elveden Church of England Primary Academy£7,307
#11Hardwick Primary School£7,189
#12Sebert Wood Community Primary School£7,152
#13Howard Community Academy£7,143
#14Ixworth Church of England Primary School£7,124
#15Westgate Community Primary School and Nursery£7,017
#16West Row Academy£6,964
#17Glade Academy£6,958
#18Wickhambrook Primary Academy£6,650
#19Lakenheath Community Primary School£6,642
#20All Saints Church of England Primary School, Newmarket£6,635
#21The Pines Primary School£6,595
#22Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy£6,533
#23Barrow Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School£6,532
#24Forest Academy£6,433
#25Paddocks Primary School£6,422
#26Coupals Primary Academy£6,397
#27Laureate Community Academy£6,385
#28St Felix Roman Catholic Primary School, Haverhill£6,339
#29Burton End Primary Academy£6,294
#30St Louis Catholic Academy£6,275
#31Guildhall Feoffment Community Primary School£6,212
#32Risby Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School£6,159
#33Tollgate Primary School£6,036
#34Place Farm Primary Academy£6,020
#35Great Barton Church of England Primary Academy£6,016
#36Rougham Church of England Primary School£5,974
#37St Mary's Church of England Academy£5,914
#38Moulton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School£5,880
#39Kedington Primary Academy£5,879
#40Great Heath Academy£5,815
#41Beck Row Primary Academy£5,704
#42Abbots Green Primary Academy£5,693
#43Westfield Primary Academy£5,671
#44New Cangle Community Primary School£5,595
#45St Christopher's CEVCP School£5,147
#46Cavendish Church of England Primary School£4,300
#47Ickworth Park Primary School£3,980
#48Clare Community Primary School£3,000

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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