The Shade Primary School

East Cambridgeshire · CB7 5DE

General information Primary School · 2-11 years Who goes here 250 pupils, 16.4% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted and results

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 18% on SEN support Behaviour 5.3% absence rate Staff 7.4% turnover Financials £6,680 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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The Shade Primary School

General Information

Address: The Shade, Soham, Ely, CB7 5DE – View on map
Phone: 01353886880
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Jane Segust
Age range: 2-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 35 families put it first for 29 places – 12 for every 10 places. 80% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 14 · 2024 12 · 2025 15 · 2026 12
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

250 pupils out of 472 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 36
% eligible for free school meals: 16.4%
Pupil mix: 5 in 10 (more mixed than the East Cambridgeshire average)
English as an additional language: 26% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 7.4% a year (East Cambridgeshire 13.8%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 64% moved to another school, 36% 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 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: 5.3%
Persistently absent pupils: 10.2%
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: 18.0%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 6.8%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 15 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 14 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 8 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 8 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 3 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: 55% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 13% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 8 percentage points below the East Cambridgeshire average (63%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 46% against an expected 65%)
3-year average (expected standard): 46%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 81% · Writing 65% · Maths 81% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 81%
Average test scores: reading 107, maths 107
Based on: 31 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 schoolEast Cambridgeshire 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 8 percentage points below the East Cambridgeshire average (63%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 19th of 27 junior and primary schools in the area

=16Kettlefields Primary School61%
=19Kennett Primary School55%
=19The Shade Primary School55%
=21Lantern Community Primary School54%
=21Sutton CofE VC Primary School54%

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

#1Mepal and Witcham Church of England Primary School100%
#2Ditton Lodge Primary School96%
#3Swaffham Prior Church of England Primary School94%
#4Little Thetford CofE Primary School77%
=5St Andrew's CofE Primary School75%
=5Swaffham Bulbeck Church of England Primary School75%
#7Cheveley CofE Primary School74%
#8Bottisham Community Primary School72%
#9Isle of Ely Primary School71%
#10Ely St John's Community Primary School68%
=11Burwell Village College (Primary)66%
=11Millfield Primary School66%
#13Littleport Community Primary School64%
#14Stretham Community Primary School63%
#15Fordham CofE Primary School62%
=16Downham Feoffees Primary Academy61%
=16Ely St Mary's CofE Junior School61%
=16Kettlefields Primary School61%
=19Kennett Primary School55%
=19The Shade Primary School55%
=21Lantern Community Primary School54%
=21Sutton CofE VC Primary School54%
=23Isleham Church of England Primary School53%
=23Robert Arkenstall Primary School53%
#25Wilburton CofE Primary School50%
#26The Weatheralls Primary School44%
#27The Rackham Church of England Primary School and Pre-School38%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,680 (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.

15th of 27 primary schools in East Cambridgeshire for spending per pupil

#13Fordham CofE Primary School£6,724
#14Littleport Community Primary School£6,722
#15The Shade Primary School£6,680
#16Cheveley CofE Primary School£6,635
#17Burwell Village College (Primary)£6,353

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

#1Burrough Green CofE Primary Academy£10,315
#2Little Thetford CofE Primary School£8,341
#3Wilburton CofE Primary School£8,245
#4Kennett Primary School£7,771
#5Swaffham Prior Church of England Primary School£7,566
#6Sutton CofE VC Primary School£7,565
#7The Weatheralls Primary School£7,155
#8Bottisham Community Primary School£6,889
#9Kettlefields Primary School£6,846
#10The Rackham Church of England Primary School and Pre-School£6,809
#11Mepal and Witcham Church of England Primary School£6,804
#12Stretham Community Primary School£6,729
#13Fordham CofE Primary School£6,724
#14Littleport Community Primary School£6,722
#15The Shade Primary School£6,680
#16Cheveley CofE Primary School£6,635
#17Burwell Village College (Primary)£6,353
#18Robert Arkenstall Primary School£6,350
#19Swaffham Bulbeck Church of England Primary School£6,270
#20Lantern Community Primary School£6,255
#21Isleham Church of England Primary School£6,243
#22Ely St John's Community Primary School£6,175
#23Downham Feoffees Primary Academy£6,027
#24Millfield Primary School£6,018
#25Isle of Ely Primary School£5,827
#26Ditton Lodge Primary School£5,683
#27St Andrew's CofE Primary School£5,510

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

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