Chingford CofE Primary School

Chingford CofE Primary School is a happy, inclusive Church of England primary where pupils are articulate, engaged and kept safe. The school has a broad and ambitious curriculum, strong early reading, effective SEND support and excellent behaviour, with high attendance and an exemplary personal development programme. Early years provision is particularly strong, and children get off to a flying start. Leadership and governance are effective, staff feel well supported, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the school remains good overall, although this inspection did not produce an overall effectiveness grade because of the grading arrangements introduced from September 2024. The main area for improvement is that in a small number of subjects, the key knowledge pupils need to learn is not identified or sequenced clearly enough. As a result, some pupils do not build as deep a body of knowledge in these subjects and are not as fully prepared for their next steps.

Strengths

• Pupils are highly articulate, engaged, happy and feel safe.
• Pupils demonstrate resilience, tenacity and a strong understanding of rights and active citizenship.
• The curriculum is broad and ambitious, with well-sequenced content in most subjects.
• Early reading is a strength, with well-trained staff and strong phonics teaching.
• Pupils with SEND are identified accurately and supported well to succeed.
• Behaviour and attitudes are excellent, lessons are uninterrupted and attendance is high.
• Personal development and the character curriculum are exemplary, including health, online safety and diversity.
• Staff are proud to work at the school and feel well supported with their wellbeing and workload.
• Leaders and governors ensure the school’s ‘thinking of others’ vision threads through its work.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, the specific knowledge pupils need to learn is not identified or sequenced clearly enough.
• Some pupils do not secure as deep a body of knowledge in these subjects as needed to be fully ready for their next steps.

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 Chingford CofE Primary School attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.0% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Chingford CofE 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 Chingford CofE Primary School had 21.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.5% 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, 17.2% of pupils at Chingford CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.7% 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 Chingford CofE Primary School received £7,719 and spent £8,084 for each of its 406 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £94,000 (-£231 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 Waltham Forest · Waltham Forest local authority: places and applications

What is Chingford CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Chingford CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Chingford CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Chingford CofE Primary School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Chingford CofE Primary School have?

Chingford CofE Primary School has 406 pupils on roll.

What age range does Chingford CofE Primary School cover?

Chingford CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Chingford CofE Primary School?

Chingford CofE Primary School is at King's Road, London, E4 7EY.