Stanway Primary School

Stanway Primary School is rated as good overall, reflecting a positive atmosphere where pupils enjoy learning and feel safe. The school successfully promotes respect and kindness among students, actively engages them in community service, and has effective behavior management strategies in place. However, the school must enhance its assessment practices beyond English and mathematics to ensure all students are meeting their learning objectives effectively. The curriculum is well-structured, allowing for the effective delivery of core subjects, and pupils with special educational needs receive appropriate support. While the leadership team is proactive in preparing students for life in modern Britain and addressing staff well-being, monitoring of some subjects is underdeveloped, which may hinder the school's ability to prioritize improvements consistently.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy attending the school and engage well with their learning.
• Strong behavior management and effective resolution of any bullying issues.
• The school promotes a positive and respectful community atmosphere.
• Teachers are knowledgeable and effectively support pupils' learning.
• Good support for pupils with special educational needs.
• A well-stocked library and emphasis on reading boost literacy engagement.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment systems in subjects other than English and mathematics are not fully developed.
• Leadership does not have sufficient oversight in subjects outside core areas.

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 Stanway Primary School attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.6% 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, 2.0% of pupils at Stanway 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 Stanway Primary School had 22.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.0% 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, 17.9% of pupils at Stanway Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.1% 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 Stanway Primary School received £6,834 and spent £6,599 for each of its 390 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £285,000 (£730 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 Colchester · Essex local authority: places and applications

What is Stanway Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Stanway Primary School is Good, from an inspection in December 2022.

When was Stanway Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Stanway Primary School was last inspected in December 2022.

How many pupils does Stanway Primary School have?

Stanway Primary School has 390 pupils on roll.

What age range does Stanway Primary School cover?

Stanway Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

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

In 2025, 61% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Stanway Primary School?

Stanway Primary School is at Villa Road, Stanway, Colchester, Essex, CO3 0RH.