Grace Cook Primary School

About Grace Cook Primary School

Grace Cook Primary School holds a Good rating from its most recent Ofsted inspection in February 2025, with inspectors awarding top marks in one area: its early years provision was judged Outstanding. That’s a strong signal for parents of younger children considering the school’s nursery provision, which caters for children from age two. Across the other four graded categories — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management — the school scored Good across the board. The inspection was a full graded visit, so there’s no previous rating to compare against, but the consistency is clear. The school is small, with 182 pupils against a capacity of 270, and has a low proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 7.2 per cent. Parent feedback from the Ofsted Parent View survey, collected between September 2024 and September 2025, shows 83 per cent of respondents would recommend the school, though the response rate of 47 parents should be kept in mind.

On academic outcomes, the school’s most telling metric is its Key Stage 2 performance. The local authority average for KS2 attainment in Suffolk is 58 per cent, which gives a useful benchmark for parents comparing schools. Grace Cook’s own KS2 results are not provided in the data, so it’s not possible to say whether it beats or falls short of that LA average. However, the Ofsted report’s judgement that quality of education is Good suggests pupils are making at least expected progress. The school has no sixth form, as it is a primary, so there are no A-level results to consider. The Parent View survey offers a mixed picture on academic support: 53 per cent of parents strongly agreed that the school has high expectations for their child, and 47 per cent strongly agreed their child does well. But 13 per cent disagreed that their child does well, and 9 per cent disagreed about high expectations, so satisfaction is strong but not universal.

In practical terms, Grace Cook offers a broad set of facilities including a Forest School, sensory room, art studios, music rooms, and an ICT suite, plus a gymnasium and outdoor playground. Sports on offer include football, cricket, tennis, dance, and rounders, and clubs range from art and gardening to science, drama, and film club. The school has specific SEND provisions for social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication, multi-sensory impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder. However, the Parent View data on SEND support is notably weak: of the 26 per cent of respondents who said their child has SEND, 50 per cent disagreed that the school gives the support needed, and 33 per cent strongly disagreed. Admissions for 2025/26 show the school is oversubscribed: 83 applications for 29 places, with 47 first-preference applications and 29 first-preference offers, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.86. This is a school that suits families who value early years excellence, a wide range of enrichment activities, and a small, community-focused setting, but those with SEND children may want to investigate further.

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