OFSTED
20 May 2025
Latest graded inspection
Latest published outcome
Not judged
OEIF
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour & attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership & management
Good
INSPECTION HISTORY
Previous Ofsted activity
30 March 2023
Ungraded inspection
School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next
Published
25 May 2023
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Free schools
Phase
Primary
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
—
Local authority
Norfolk
Trust
THE FREE SCHOOL NORWICH
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
2025/26
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.
Total pupils
180
180 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
97
53.9% of pupils
Male pupils
83
46.1% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
7.0 pts
below England
School
17.8%
Norwich
25.0%
East of England
19.7%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
20.3 pts
above England
School
40.6%
Norwich
23.5%
East of England
16.4%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
1.8 pts
above England
School
2.8%
Norwich
2.6%
East of England
1.7%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
54.4%
98
Indian
13.9%
25
Any other White background
8.9%
16
Any other Mixed background
5.6%
10
African
4.4%
8
Any other ethnic group
3.3%
6
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
2025/26
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.
Pupils with SEN
9.4%
17 of
180 pupils
11.4 pts
below England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
5.9 pts
below
England
6.0%
5.5 pts
below
PRIMARY NEEDS
Pupils
Most common identified needs
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
2024/25
Key stage 2 outcomes
Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.
EXPECTED STANDARD
Reading, writing & maths
46.0%
14.4 pts
below England
EXPECTED STANDARD
75.0%
Reading
1.2 pts above England
School
75.0%
Norwich
61.1%
East of England
72.9%
England
73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD
57.0%
Writing
13.3 pts below England
School
57.0%
Norwich
57.9%
East of England
68.0%
England
70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD
61.0%
Maths
11.0 pts below England
School
61.0%
Norwich
58.5%
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
2024/25
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.
ABSENCE RATE
5.57%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
0.64 pts
lower than
England
School
5.57%
Norwich
7.09%
East of England
6.17%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
15.25%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
0.56 pts
lower than
England
School
15.25%
Norwich
18.77%
East of England
15.39%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
0.56%
Severe absence
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
1.24 pts
lower than
England
School
0.56%
Norwich
2.65%
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
91.8%
3.7 pts
above England
The Free School Norwich
91.8%
Norwich
80.9%
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.