Harwich Community Primary School and Nursery

Harwich Community Primary School and Nursery is performing well overall, maintaining a good standard of education across all inspected areas. The school has created a nurturing environment where pupils are happy and motivated to attend. There is a strong emphasis on well-being, with staff and peers readily available to support students. Leaders demonstrate ambition for pupils and have effectively engaged the parental community, resulting in positive feedback regarding the support provided to students. However, there are some areas that require improvement, particularly regarding the curriculum in certain subjects. The school has not consistently identified the essential knowledge and vocabulary necessary for pupils to build on prior learning, leading to potential gaps in understanding. Additionally, monitoring of pupil progress in specific curriculum areas is not as thorough as it could be, which hampers the ability to make informed improvements.

Strengths

• Pupils exhibit good behaviour and are polite and courteous.
• The school prioritizes the well-being of all pupils.
• There is a strong emphasis on reading, with well-trained staff supporting early readers.
• The identification and support for pupils with SEND are well-structured and effective.
• Strong engagement with the parental community has resulted in positive feedback.
• Leaders at all levels are ambitious for pupils and effectively manage staff workload.

Areas for Improvement

• Certain subjects lack precise identification of key knowledge and vocabulary.
• Monitoring of pupil progress is inconsistent across some areas of the curriculum.

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 Harwich Community Primary School and Nursery attended 92.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 22.5% 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, 1.9% of pupils at Harwich Community Primary School and Nursery 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 Harwich Community Primary School and Nursery had 23.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.2% 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, 13.5% of pupils at Harwich Community Primary School and Nursery were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.5% 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 Harwich Community Primary School and Nursery received £8,803 and spent £9,067 for each of its 222 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £75,000 (£340 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 Harwich · Essex local authority: places and applications

What is Harwich Community Primary School and Nursery's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Harwich Community Primary School and Nursery is Good, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was Harwich Community Primary School and Nursery last inspected by Ofsted?

Harwich Community Primary School and Nursery was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does Harwich Community Primary School and Nursery have?

Harwich Community Primary School and Nursery has 222 pupils on roll.

What age range does Harwich Community Primary School and Nursery cover?

Harwich Community Primary School and Nursery for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Harwich Community Primary School and Nursery's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 31% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Harwich Community Primary School and Nursery?

Harwich Community Primary School and Nursery is at Barrack Lane, Harwich, CO12 3NS.