The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School), Harleston
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 1 year agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
This school creates a caring, inclusive community where children thrive academically and personally. Staff know pupils well and provide strong support, helping them feel genuinely safe and valued. The school has worked hard to improve outcomes, particularly for younger pupils, and offers excellent enrichment activities that build confidence and community spirit.
Key Strengths
- Early years provision is outstanding with deep, engaging curriculum and exceptional focus on individual needs
- Strong prioritisation of reading with well-trained staff and high-quality texts throughout the school
- Calm, respectful behaviour across school with clear expectations, strong pastoral care and values-led approach
- Broad curriculum carefully designed to build knowledge from early years through to Year 11
- Pupils benefit from meaningful leadership roles and wide range of enrichment activities
Areas for Improvement
- Writing quality is inconsistent across the curriculum because whole-school writing approach is not consistently applied by all staff
- Teachers do not always check pupils' understanding precisely enough, meaning misconceptions and knowledge gaps are not addressed quickly
- Secondary pupils do not receive comprehensive enough subject-specific careers education guidance
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with strong systems in place to protect pupils.
Extracurricular Activities
Sports, music, drama, community events, town parades, residential trips, visits abroad, Tots to Teens mentoring programme, well-being ambassadors, diversity crew, junior librarians, Reading Cafés
The Harleston Sancroft Academy is a 3-16 Church of England school that provides a broad and ambitious all-through curriculum where pupils feel happy, safe and cared for by staff. The school has taken effective action to improve achievement, particularly in the primary phase, and has an outstanding early years provision.
At a Glance
24.1%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
161 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View - % who strongly agree or agree
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2025/26KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has improved from 62% to 74%. Maths has improved from 44% to 70%. Writing has improved from 48% to 69%.
Class Sizes
24.3
Avg class size
27.8
Infant (KS1)
27.3
KS2
32
Total classes
4 classes with more than 30 pupils
2024/25 academic year
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
85%
Available places
824 pupils
973 capacity
149 spare places available
Area Demand Pressure - Harleston
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Harleston
Admissions Demand - Norfolk
Places available
9,550
Applications
8,636
Got 1st preference
93.3%
Got preferred school
98.2%
Secondary admissions across Norfolk (2025/26)
Inspection History
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SEN Provision
How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.
Pupil Demographics
The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.
Teachers & Staff
Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.
School Funding
Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.
Pupil Absence2024/25
6.83113%
Overall absence
18.4466%
Persistent absence
824
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
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Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
The Harleston Sancroft Academy (a 3-16 Church of England School)
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