Beehive Lane Community Primary School

Beehive Lane Community Primary School is performing at the expected standard overall, with safeguarding standards met. Pupils achieve well by the end of key stage 2, including in national tests, and disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. Attendance is high, behaviour is very good, and pupils are happy, respectful and well prepared academically and socially for secondary school. The curriculum is well considered, early years children settle well and learn phonics, and inclusion, leadership, governance and personal development are secure. The school has experienced leadership changes and interim arrangements; the current headteacher joined in April 2026 and has brought stability and a clear improvement agenda. Leaders know what needs to improve. Teaching is generally strong but inconsistent across the school and in some subjects, and misconceptions are not always identified and addressed, particularly in younger pupils' punctuation, spelling and grammar. Some younger pupils have gaps in foundational reading and writing knowledge, and a small number of key stage 1 pupils need more help to close these gaps. In early years, some activities are not sharply designed enough to help children practise, apply and secure their knowledge and skills. Next steps focus on embedding highly effective teaching across all subjects and ensuring early years activities are precisely designed for learning.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve very well by the end of key stage 2, with consistently above-average outcomes in national tests.
• Disadvantaged pupils are well prepared for secondary school, and pupil premium funding is used effectively.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities learn well, with needs identified quickly and clear support plans.
• Pupils' spoken language and vocabulary are particularly well developed.
• Attendance is very high, and leaders act decisively to address absence.
• Pupils behave very well and show mutual respect; bullying is extremely rare.
• The curriculum is well considered and builds knowledge in a sensible order.
• Phonics teaching is accurate and skilled, helping pupils become fluent readers.
• Children in Reception settle well, build warm relationships and learn classroom routines quickly.
• Inclusion is strong, with effective systems for disadvantaged pupils, pupils with SEND and previously looked-after pupils.
• Leadership and governance are effective; the new headteacher has brought stability, and governors provide support and challenge.
• Personal development is well designed, with strong pastoral support and a wide range of enrichment opportunities.
• Pupils are happy, confident, safe and well prepared for their next stage.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching quality is inconsistent across the school and in some subjects.
• Teachers do not consistently identify and address pupils' misconceptions, especially in younger pupils' punctuation, spelling and grammar.
• Some younger pupils have gaps in the foundational knowledge needed to become proficient readers and writers.
• A small number of key stage 1 pupils need more help to close gaps in foundational knowledge.
• Early years activities are not always sharply focused on the most important knowledge and skills, limiting practice and consolidation.

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 Beehive Lane Community Primary School attended 96.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.8% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Beehive Lane 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 Beehive Lane Community Primary School had 21.4 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, 11.0% of pupils at Beehive Lane Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.7% 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 Beehive Lane Community Primary School received £7,197 and spent £7,124 for each of its 210 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £93,000 (£446 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 Chelmsford · Essex local authority: places and applications

What is Beehive Lane Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Beehive Lane Community Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Beehive Lane Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Beehive Lane Community Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Beehive Lane Community Primary School have?

Beehive Lane Community Primary School has 210 pupils on roll.

What age range does Beehive Lane Community Primary School cover?

Beehive Lane Community Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Beehive Lane Community Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 77% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Beehive Lane Community Primary School?

Beehive Lane Community Primary School is at Beehive Lane, Great Baddow, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 9SR.