Valley Primary Academy

Norwich · NR5 8XZ

General information Primary School · 5-11 years Who goes here 153 pupils, 42.5% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted: Requires improvement

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 22.2% on SEN support Behaviour 6.0% absence rate Staff 16.7% turnover Financials £8,784 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Valley Primary Academy

General Information

Address: Gentry Place, Norwich, NR5 8XZ – View on map
Headteacher: Mrs Heather Thorne
Age range: 5-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 11 families put it first for 12 places – 9 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: 2025 10 · 2026 9
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

153 pupils out of 210 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 65
% eligible for free school meals: 42.5%
Pupil mix: 7 in 10 (more mixed than the Norwich average)
English as an additional language: 41% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 16.7% a year (Norwich 17%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 50% moved to another school, 50% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (one year, 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 Norfolk: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 26 (0.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 12 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 5 (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 Norfolk (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: 6.0%
Persistently absent pupils: 23.8%
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: 22.2%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 13.7%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Moderate learning difficulty: 11 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 8 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 7 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 5 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 6 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 5 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 4 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 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

Requires improvement 2023 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 67% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 9 percentage points above the Norwich average (58%)
Expected standard by subject: Reading 83% · Writing 83% · Maths 70% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 53%
Average test scores: reading 105, maths 102
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.

Year 6 SATs: joint 5th of 25 junior and primary schools in the area

#4Angel Road Junior School68%
=5Mile Cross Primary School67%
=5Valley Primary Academy67%
=7Colman Junior School65%
=7St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School65%

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

#1Charles Darwin Primary School81%
#2Eaton Primary School72%
#3St Michael's VA Junior School69%
#4Angel Road Junior School68%
=5Mile Cross Primary School67%
=5Valley Primary Academy67%
=7Colman Junior School65%
=7St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School65%
=7Wensum Junior School65%
#10Magdalen Gates Primary School62%
=11Avenue Junior School61%
=11Henderson Green Primary Academy61%
=13Bignold Primary School and Nursery57%
=13Edith Cavell Academy and Nursery57%
#15Bluebell Primary School56%
#16Catton Grove Primary School54%
#17Heartsease Primary Academy51%
#18George White Junior School50%
#19Norwich Primary Academy49%
=20St. Clements Hill Primary Academy46%
=20The Free School Norwich46%
=22Lakenham Primary School45%
=22Lionwood Junior School45%
#24Tuckswood Academy43%
#25West Earlham Junior School38%

View full Ofsted inspection report

14th of 14 primary schools in Norwich for Ofsted rating

#12The Free School NorwichGood
#13Henderson Green Primary AcademyRequires improvement
#14Valley Primary AcademyRequires improvement

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Charles Darwin Primary SchoolOutstanding
#2Mile Cross Primary SchoolOutstanding
#3Bignold Primary School and NurseryGood
#4Catton Grove Primary SchoolGood
#5Eaton Primary SchoolGood
#6Edith Cavell Academy and NurseryGood
#7Heartsease Primary AcademyGood
#8Lakenham Primary SchoolGood
#9Magdalen Gates Primary SchoolGood
#10Norwich Primary AcademyGood
#11St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#12The Free School NorwichGood
#13Henderson Green Primary AcademyRequires improvement
#14Valley Primary AcademyRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £8,784 (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.

4th of 17 primary schools in Norwich for spending per pupil

#2Henderson Green Primary Academy£9,377
#3Edith Cavell Academy and Nursery£9,151
#4Valley Primary Academy£8,784
#5Mile Cross Primary School£8,252
#6Heartsease Primary Academy£7,760

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

#1Bluebell Primary School£10,190
#2Henderson Green Primary Academy£9,377
#3Edith Cavell Academy and Nursery£9,151
#4Valley Primary Academy£8,784
#5Mile Cross Primary School£8,252
#6Heartsease Primary Academy£7,760
#7Tuckswood Academy£7,691
#8The Free School Norwich£7,649
#9Norwich Primary Academy£7,545
#10Catton Grove Primary School£7,247
#11Magdalen Gates Primary School£7,242
#12Lakenham Primary School£7,224
#13St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School£6,915
#14Charles Darwin Primary School£6,749
#15Bignold Primary School and Nursery£6,603
#16St. Clements Hill Primary Academy£6,112
#17Eaton Primary School£5,977

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

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