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Purleigh Community Primary School

Primary · Chelmsford · CM3 6PJ

Data updated

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Good

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: OutstandingPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 1 May 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

206 pupils · 98% of 210 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
4–11
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
9.7% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
1% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
17% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
www.purleighprimary.com/
URN
140744

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 26 families named it first for 30 Reception places, 0.87 first choices per place. Its last Reception place offered on distance for 2026 entry went to 3.373 miles, the only Reception round we hold for it. Ofsted last graded it Good on 1 May 2024, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 4.2% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

0.87 first-choice applications per place

30 places offered · 26 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Places by distance, last offered at 3.373 miles for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2026 entry) lived within 3.373 miles

measured in a straight line.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

27 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
74%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
7%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
107
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
108
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school74%
Median of its 12 closest peers70.5%
Essex average63.8%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
Oxenhope CofE Primary SchoolKeighley · 183 miles awayGood67%
Sedgefield Primary SchoolStockton-on-Tees · 222 miles awayGood73%
Tiptree Heath Primary SchoolColchester · 9 miles awayNo current grade47%
Kea Community Primary SchoolTruro · 268 miles awayGood57%
Inkberrow Primary SchoolWorcester · 118 miles awayOutstanding74%
Belbroughton CofE Primary SchoolStourbridge · 127 miles awayGood (2015)74%
Aston All Saints CofE (A) Primary SchoolSheffield · 142 miles awayGood76%
St Wilfrid's CofE Primary SchoolNottingham · 118 miles awayGood71%
Thorley Hill Primary SchoolBishop's Stortford · 24 miles awayGood87%
Garswood Primary and Nursery SchoolWigan · 187 miles awayStrong standard70%
Catmose PrimaryOakham · 90 miles awayGood50%
Scotter Primary SchoolGainsborough · 136 miles awayExpected standard61%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 93% (Essex 73%, England 60%) · Asian Indian 2% (Essex 3%, England 4%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Essex 3%, England 3%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Essex 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Essex 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Essex 1%, England 1%) · Any other White background 1% (Essex 7%, England 7%) · other groups together 0%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
4.2%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
10.9%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

0.49 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Essex: 3.26 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
23.6
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

100% of teachers stayed at the school the following year

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, primary academies: 0.3% vacant, 0.32% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

27.3% of teachers took sickness absence, 2.7 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £51,283; 9.1% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£5,248
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 74% (77%) · premises 3% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 13% (8%) · supplies and services 9% (9%) · educational supplies 5% (4%) · bought-in professional services 2% (2%) · catering 7% (5%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £202,000; in-year balance +£138,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
6/10around the middle for England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher26.7%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications18.8%18.1%
In managerial or professional work37.6%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways14%18.1%
Residents in very good health48.6%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier80.1%62.3%
Social housing11.2%17.1%
Privately rented8.7%20.5%
Detached houses67.9%22.9%
Flats2.7%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms48.1%21.1%
Households with no car or van3.8%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01021903 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£416,50022 sales within 2 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£235,000–£810,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (9)£855,000
Flat (8)£227,500

Homes around this school are dearer than three quarters of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 2 km across every state school.

Fewer than ten homes sold within 1 km, so the figures use 2 km.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 2 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
0a rural school averages 0.3
Collisions at school-run times
1a rural school averages 0.7
All reported collisions
6a rural school averages 3.4
Of those, serious or fatal
1a rural school averages 0.9

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools