Great Sampford Community Primary School

Great Sampford Community Primary School is performing well overall, demonstrating a strong commitment to the education and well-being of its pupils. The welcoming environment encourages positive relationships and fosters a sense of community among students. Since the previous inspection, the school has maintained good performance across all areas, including the quality of education, behaviour, personal development, and leadership. Leaders have implemented an ambitious curriculum while ensuring that pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are supported to thrive both academically and socially.

Strengths

• Pupils and children in early years flourish in a welcoming environment.
• Strong relationships exist between pupils and staff, fostering a caring atmosphere.
• Leaders have developed an ambitious curriculum that meets diverse needs.
• Reading is prioritized, and pupils are motivated to develop a love of reading.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND ensures equitable access to the curriculum.
• Pupils participate actively in extracurricular activities and take on responsibilities.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils struggle with reading due to misaligned reading books.
• A few subjects lack detailed identification of essential 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 Great Sampford Community Primary School attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.2% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Great Sampford Community 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 Great Sampford Community Primary School had 17.0 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, 16.5% of pupils at Great Sampford Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.6% 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 Great Sampford Community Primary School received £8,779 and spent £8,685 for each of its 79 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £160,000 (£2,029 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 Saffron Walden · Essex local authority: places and applications

What is Great Sampford Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Great Sampford Community Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2023.

When was Great Sampford Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Great Sampford Community Primary School was last inspected in June 2023.

How many pupils does Great Sampford Community Primary School have?

Great Sampford Community Primary School has 79 pupils on roll.

What age range does Great Sampford Community Primary School cover?

Great Sampford Community Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Great Sampford Community Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Great Sampford Community Primary School?

Great Sampford Community Primary School is at Finchingfield Road, Great Sampford, Saffron Walden, Essex, CB10 2RL.