SCHOOL PROFILE

Birchwood Primary School

Primary Community school URN 124681
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 210 Published school capacity
Capacity used 99.5% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 4 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

14 December 2022
Latest published outcome School remains Outstanding
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Community school
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Does not apply
Local authority Suffolk
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 209 209 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 104 49.8% of pupils
Male pupils 105 50.2% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

10.0%
14.8 pts below England
School 10.0%
East Suffolk 23.6%
East of England 19.7%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

9.6%
10.7 pts below England
School 9.6%
East Suffolk 5.0%
East of England 16.4%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.5%
0.5 pts below England
School 0.5%
East Suffolk 2.3%
East of England 1.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
72.2%
151
Any other Mixed background
7.7%
16
Unclassified
3.8%
8
White and Asian
3.8%
8
Any other White background
3.3%
7
Indian
3.3%
7
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 12.9% 27 of 209 pupils
7.9 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 12.9%
East Suffolk 22.6%
East of England 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 10.1% 21 pupils
England 14.8% 4.7 pts below
EHC plans 2.9% 6 pupils
England 6.0% 3.2 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 6
Social, emotional & mental health 5
Autistic spectrum disorder 4
Moderate learning difficulty 4
No specialist assessment yet 3
Specific learning difficulty 3

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

73.0% 12.6 pts above England
School 73.0%
East Suffolk 56.7%
East of England 58.3%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

83.0%

9.2 pts above England

School 83.0%
East Suffolk 70.5%
East of England 72.9%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

80.0%

9.7 pts above England

School 80.0%
East Suffolk 67.4%
East of England 68.0%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

80.0%

8.0 pts above England

School 80.0%
East Suffolk 67.5%
East of England 70.3%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

3.63%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

2.59 pts lower than England
School 3.63%
East Suffolk 6.54%
East of England 6.17%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

7.10%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

8.71 pts lower than England
School 7.10%
East Suffolk 15.54%
East of England 15.39%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.55%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.26 pts lower than England
School 0.55%
East Suffolk 2.19%
East of England 1.83%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

99.5% 11.3 pts above England
Birchwood Primary School
99.5%
East Suffolk
82.9%
East of England
87.4%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information