John Ray Infant School
Primary · Braintree · CM7 1HL
Data updated
Earlier grade, confirmed by a later ungraded inspection
Ofsted's most recent (ungraded) visit confirmed the school remains Good. Ungraded inspections do not award a new grade.
Inspected 14 November 2019
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
319 pupils · 89% of 360 capacity (January 2026 census)
- School type
- Academy converter
- Age range
- 2–7
- Gender
- Mixed
- Free school meals
- 20.2% of pupils (January 2026)
- English as additional language
- 10.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
- SEN support
- 15.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
- EHC plan
- 2.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
- Nursery
- Yes
- URN
- 150501
In figures
For September 2026 entry, 89 families named it first for 90 Reception places, 0.99 first choices per place. We hold one Reception admissions round for it, 2026 entry, and it was not decided by a published distance. An ungraded Ofsted inspection on 14 November 2019 confirmed its earlier grade, Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 5.7% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.
Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026
0.99 first-choice applications per place90 places offered · 89 first-choice applications · roughly balanced
Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured
Catchment area
Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. The distance published for 2026 entry is not shown here.
Admissions cutoff distance: Reception
The distance published for 2026 entry is not shown here.
It is far outside anything this school's other years or comparable schools show, so it would not tell you how close you need to live.
Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work
Compare admissions across the area: Braintree school admissions · Essex school admissions
Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)
White British 65% (Essex 73%, England 60%) · Any other White background 12% (Essex 7%, England 7%) · Any other Mixed background 5% (Essex 3%, England 3%) · Black African 4% (Essex 4%, England 5%) · Not recorded 4% (Essex 1%, England 1%) · Any other Black background 2% (Essex 1%, England 1%) · Any other Asian background 2% (Essex 1%, England 2%) · Asian Indian 2% (Essex 3%, England 4%) · Asian Pakistani 2% (Essex 1%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Essex 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Essex 2%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Essex 1%, England 1%) · other groups together 1%
Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures
Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)
Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)
0.30 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
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
Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.
Teacher retention (2024/25)
79% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 20% left the state-funded sector
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)
52.6% of teachers took sickness absence, 4 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 £49,977; 11.8% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%
Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted
Spending per pupil (2024-25)
Where the money went (2024-25)
Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 82% (77%) · premises 6% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 6% (8%) · supplies and services 6% (9%) · educational supplies 5% (4%) · bought-in professional services 0% (2%) · catering 4% (5%)
Reserves (2024-25)
Revenue reserve £1,000; in-year balance -£59,000
Spending and reserves, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared
The area around the school
- Child poverty (IDACI)
- 3/10more deprived than most of England
- Overall deprivation (IMD)
- 3/10more deprived than most of England
| Census 2021 | This area | England |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with a degree or higher | 16.5% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 25.5% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 19.3% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 27.9% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 40.4% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 53% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 37.4% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 9.1% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 13.6% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 16.2% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 13% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 23.8% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01021374 · how to read area figures
What homes cost nearby
- Median sale price
- £307,500325 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
- Typical range
- £264,000–£350,000the middle half of sales
- England median
- £300,000all sales over the same period
Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.
Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 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
- 2an urban school averages 2.0
- Collisions at school-run times
- 1an urban school averages 5.7
- All reported collisions
- 9an urban school averages 30.5
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 6an urban school averages 6.1
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