Ripple Primary School

Ripple Primary School is maintaining the good standards noted in its previous inspection, showcasing a positive and nurturing environment where pupils feel safe and happy. The school emphasizes high expectations, offering a broad and ambitious curriculum that helps most pupils achieve successfully. This includes ensuring that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are fully integrated and receive tailored support to excel along with their peers. There is a commendable focus on improving reading skills and a dedication to foster a love of learning among pupils through various enriching activities.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and happy in a nurturing community.
• High expectations for all pupils to learn and achieve well.
• Ambitious curriculum that prepares pupils for future education.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND ensures their success.
• Strong focus on developing pupils' communication and language skills.
• Pupils behave well and demonstrate respect for one another.
• Improvements in phonics teaching are helping many pupils catch up.
• Rich variety of enriching activities enhances the learning experience.

Areas for Improvement

• Teachers occasionally introduce new concepts too quickly.
• Some pupils have gaps in their knowledge due to misconceptions.
• Inconsistent delivery of phonics affects reading fluency for younger pupils.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Ripple Primary School attended 94.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.6% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at Ripple Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Ripple Primary School had 16.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.9% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 15.4% of pupils at Ripple Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.6% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Ripple Primary School received £9,529 and spent £9,757 for each of its 848 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £834,000 (-£983 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Barking And Dagenham · Barking and Dagenham local authority: places and applications

What is Ripple Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ripple Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Ripple Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Ripple Primary School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Ripple Primary School have?

Ripple Primary School has 856 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ripple Primary School cover?

Ripple Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Ripple Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 73% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Ripple Primary School?

Ripple Primary School is at Suffolk Road, Barking, Essex, IG11 7QS.