Orchards Church of England Academy

Fenland · PE13 3NP

General information Primary School · 2-11 years Who goes here 384 pupils, 51% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted and results

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 20.1% on SEN support Behaviour 8.6% absence rate Staff 17.7% turnover Financials £7,144 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Orchards Church of England Academy

General Information

Address: Cherry Road, Wisbech, PE13 3NP – View on map
Phone: 01945583799
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Dr Damien Homden
Age range: 2-11 years
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

384 pupils out of 420 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 174
% eligible for free school meals: 51.0%
Pupil mix: 7 in 10 (more mixed than the Fenland average)
English as an additional language: 46% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 17.7% a year (Fenland 16.7%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 55% moved to another school, 45% 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.

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 Cambridgeshire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 7 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 9 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 3 (0.1 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 Cambridgeshire (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: 8.6%
Persistently absent pupils: 25.8%
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: 20.1%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.2%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 56 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 11 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 5 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 4 pupils
Profound and multiple learning difficulty: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 9 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 5 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 2 pupils

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: 49% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: in line with the Fenland average (51%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 37% against an expected 61%)
3-year average (expected standard): 37%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 59% · Writing 58% · Maths 59% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 52%
Average test scores: reading 101, maths 102
Based on: 54 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 schoolFenland averageEngland↗ Improving Up 23 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was in line with the Fenland average (51%).

Year 6 SATs: 16th of 29 junior and primary schools in the area

=14Cavalry Primary School54%
=14St Peter's CofE Aided Junior School54%
#16Orchards Church of England Academy49%
=17Coates Primary School47%
=17Murrow Primary Academy47%

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

#1Wisbech St Mary CofE Academy79%
#2Alderman Payne Primary School75%
#3Lionel Walden Primary School69%
#4Guyhirn CofE VC Primary School67%
#5Alderman Jacobs School66%
#6Benwick Primary School64%
#7Leverington Primary Academy63%
=8Elm CofE Primary School61%
=8Manea Community Primary School61%
#10Glebelands Primary Academy59%
=11Park Lane Primary & Nursery School57%
=11Ramnoth Junior School57%
#13Elm Road Primary School55%
=14Cavalry Primary School54%
=14St Peter's CofE Aided Junior School54%
#16Orchards Church of England Academy49%
=17Coates Primary School47%
=17Murrow Primary Academy47%
=19Kingsfield Primary School45%
=19Peckover Primary School45%
#21Westwood Primary School42%
#22Townley Primary School38%
#23Burrowmoor Primary Academy32%
#24New Road Primary & Nursery School31%
=25Friday Bridge Community Primary School29%
=25Gorefield Primary Academy29%
=27Kinderley Primary School27%
=27Thomas Eaton Primary Academy27%
#29All Saints Interchurch Academy17%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,144 (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.

12th of 27 primary schools in Fenland for spending per pupil

#10Murrow Primary Academy£7,547
#11Kingsfield Primary School£7,416
#12Orchards Church of England Academy£7,144
#13Coates Primary School£6,926
#14Lionel Walden Primary School£6,901

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

#1Townley Primary School£9,790
#2Kinderley Primary School£9,501
#3All Saints Interchurch Academy£8,844
#4Friday Bridge Community Primary School£8,588
#5Thomas Eaton Primary Academy£8,563
#6Benwick Primary School£8,435
#7Manea Community Primary School£8,239
#8Gorefield Primary Academy£7,950
#9Alderman Payne Primary School£7,907
#10Murrow Primary Academy£7,547
#11Kingsfield Primary School£7,416
#12Orchards Church of England Academy£7,144
#13Coates Primary School£6,926
#14Lionel Walden Primary School£6,901
#15Wisbech St Mary CofE Academy£6,803
#16Burrowmoor Primary Academy£6,753
#17Leverington Primary Academy£6,668
#18Peckover Primary School£6,607
#19Cavalry Primary School£6,560
#20New Road Primary & Nursery School£6,414
#21Elm Road Primary School£6,393
#22Glebelands Primary Academy£6,323
#23Guyhirn CofE VC Primary School£6,224
#24Westwood Primary School£6,118
#25Alderman Jacobs School£6,104
#26Park Lane Primary & Nursery School£6,034
#27Elm CofE Primary School£5,467

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

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