Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harlow

Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School is performing well overall, maintaining a good rating across all key areas. The school has cultivated an environment where pupils feel safe, respected, and valued, and there is a strong emphasis on maintaining high expectations for learning and behavior. This robust culture has fostered a sense of responsibility and democracy among students, who actively participate in school governance through roles such as the school council. The curriculum is ambitious and has been adapted following the pandemic to address learning gaps, particularly focusing on reading and mathematics.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy learning and feel safe at school.
• High expectations for pupils' learning and behavior are maintained.
• The curriculum is ambitious and addresses gaps in learning effectively.
• Strong focus on reading with a well-structured early reading program.
• Teachers have secure knowledge of their subjects and support each other.
• Pupils demonstrate a good understanding of democracy and take on leadership roles.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils lack sufficient opportunities to develop writing skills.
• Assessment systems are not fully embedded, leading to gaps in knowledge.
• High levels of pupil absence impact learning and development.

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 Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harlow attended 94.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.0% 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 Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harlow 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 Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harlow had 19.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.7% 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, 17.2% of pupils at Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harlow were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.7% 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 Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harlow received £7,284 and spent £7,602 for each of its 192 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £167,000 (£867 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 Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harlow's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harlow is Good, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harlow last inspected by Ofsted?

Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harlow was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harlow have?

Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harlow has 192 pupils on roll.

What age range does Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harlow cover?

Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harlow for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harlow's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 35% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harlow?

Churchgate Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Harlow is at Hobbs Cross Road, Harlow, Essex, CM17 0LB.