St Michael's Primary School and Nursery, Colchester

St Michael’s Primary School and Nursery is a community primary where pupils are kind, feel safe and enjoy learning. Inspectors found the school performing well across education, behaviour, leadership and early years, with personal development a particular standout. Pupils benefit from an ambitious curriculum, strong reading provision and a wide range of clubs, visits and citizenship opportunities. SEND provision is a significant strength: needs are identified quickly and staff adapt learning well, so pupils with SEND achieve well. Early years provides a solid foundation, especially in communication and language, and staff are well supported by leaders and effectively held to account by governors. Safeguarding is effective. The main areas to improve are consistency in writing across the wider curriculum and in checking what pupils have learned in a few subjects. Sometimes spelling, grammar and punctuation errors are not addressed, and gaps in subject knowledge are not always identified, which limits progress for some pupils. This was the first routine inspection since the pandemic, and no overall effectiveness grade was awarded under the current framework.

Strengths

• Pupils consistently demonstrate the school values and say everyone is kind.
• Pupils feel safe, enjoy school and achieve well in most subjects.
• The curriculum is ambitious and builds important knowledge over time.
• Reading is prioritised, with highly trained staff and effective phonics support.
• Provision for pupils with SEND is a strength, with rapid identification and effective support.
• Personal development is exceptional, with rich opportunities for citizenship, careers and extracurricular activities.
• Early years provides a strong foundation, particularly in communication and language.
• Staff feel well supported by leaders in their well-being and workload.
• Governance holds the school to account effectively.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Expectations for spelling, grammar and punctuation are not consistently reinforced across the wider curriculum.
• In a few subjects, checks on pupils’ understanding are inconsistent, so gaps are not always identified and addressed.
• Some pupils’ written work across the curriculum does not reflect how well they are learning.

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 St Michael's Primary School and Nursery, Colchester attended 94.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.2% 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, 3.0% of pupils at St Michael's Primary School and Nursery, Colchester 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 St Michael's Primary School and Nursery, Colchester had 20.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 15.8% of pupils at St Michael's Primary School and Nursery, Colchester were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 9.6% 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 St Michael's Primary School and Nursery, Colchester received £9,129 and spent £9,457 for each of its 224 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £423,000 (£1,888 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).

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What is St Michael's Primary School and Nursery, Colchester's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Michael's Primary School and Nursery, Colchester is Good, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was St Michael's Primary School and Nursery, Colchester last inspected by Ofsted?

St Michael's Primary School and Nursery, Colchester was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does St Michael's Primary School and Nursery, Colchester have?

St Michael's Primary School and Nursery, Colchester has 228 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Michael's Primary School and Nursery, Colchester cover?

St Michael's Primary School and Nursery, Colchester for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Michael's Primary School and Nursery, Colchester's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 56% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Michael's Primary School and Nursery, Colchester?

St Michael's Primary School and Nursery, Colchester is at Camulodunum Way, Berechurch Hall Road, Colchester, Essex, CO2 9RA.