Sunnymede Primary School

Sunnymede Primary School was inspected in March 2025 and was judged good in all key judgements: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This was its first graded inspection under section 5, following the 2023 amalgamation of the infant and junior schools. Pupils are described as happy, safe and well behaved, and they achieve well in a calm, friendly and ambitious environment where adults have high expectations. The school's strengths include a well-planned and effectively taught phonics curriculum, strong reading provision, inclusive support for pupils with SEND, and a broad personal development offer. Pupils attend regularly, show positive attitudes to learning, and are well prepared for the next stage of their education. Leaders work closely with staff, parents and pupils, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main area for improvement is that, in some curriculum areas, it is not clear enough what pupils must know and remember. As a result, staff checks on learning are not consistently useful in identifying and addressing gaps in pupils' knowledge. The report notes that this practice is more secure in some curriculum areas than others.

Strengths

• Pupils love school and feel safe, happy and included.
• Adults have high expectations and pupils respond by working hard and behaving well.
• The curriculum is aspirational, logically sequenced and interesting, starting in the early years.
• Staff are well trained and use consistent routines, vocabulary and resources.
• Reading is a central priority, with a very well planned and consistently taught phonics curriculum.
• Pupils who need additional reading support receive well-planned and effective help.
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly, supported appropriately and make effective progress.
• Pupils attend regularly, behave well and have positive attitudes to learning.
• Personal development is prioritised, with strong opportunities for pupils to develop responsibility and talents.
• Leadership is effective and works closely with staff, parents and pupils.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In some curriculum areas, it is not clear what the most important information is that pupils need to know and remember.
• Checks on pupils' learning are not consistently sufficient to identify and address gaps in pupils' knowledge.

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 Sunnymede Primary School attended 96.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.5% 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, 0.2% of pupils at Sunnymede 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 Sunnymede Primary School had 22.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.5% 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, 13.6% of pupils at Sunnymede Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.8% 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 Sunnymede Primary School received £6,520 and spent £6,349 for each of its 389 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £151,000 (£387 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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All schools in Billericay · Essex local authority: places and applications

What is Sunnymede Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Sunnymede Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Sunnymede Primary School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Sunnymede Primary School have?

Sunnymede Primary School has 389 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sunnymede Primary School cover?

Sunnymede Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 69% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Sunnymede Primary School?

Sunnymede Primary School is at The Meadoway, Billericay, Essex, CM11 2HL.