Great Totham Primary School

Great Totham Primary School continues to demonstrate a good level of performance, with a welcoming environment where pupils feel happy and safe. The school has high expectations for pupil achievement, and this is reflected in the hard work and dedication of both students and staff. Pupils excel academically across the curriculum, benefiting from a well-structured curriculum and effective teaching strategies, particularly in phonics and reading development. The school emphasizes important values such as respect and achievement, fostering a strong community spirit and promoting positive behavior. Notably, the school has been inspected for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, and leaders have effectively considered its impact on education.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy being part of a welcoming school community.
• High expectations set by staff lead to strong student effort and achievement.
• Teachers effectively support pupils with misconceptions to secure understanding.
• A well-structured curriculum allows pupils to learn key knowledge and skills.
• Pupils with SEND receive appropriate support to achieve well.
• Pupils behave exceptionally well and understand the importance of school values.
• There is a strong emphasis on language development in early years.
• Pupils enjoy a wide range of sporting opportunities.

Areas for Improvement

• Some areas of the curriculum lack precise definition of key knowledge and skills.

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 Totham Primary School attended 96.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.3% 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 Great Totham 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 Totham Primary School had 22.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 27.8% 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, 10.4% of pupils at Great Totham Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.4% 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 Totham Primary School received £5,964 and spent £5,685 for each of its 431 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £555,000 (£1,287 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 Maldon · Essex local authority: places and applications

What is Great Totham Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Great Totham Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Great Totham Primary School was last inspected in June 2023.

How many pupils does Great Totham Primary School have?

Great Totham Primary School has 431 pupils on roll.

What age range does Great Totham Primary School cover?

Great Totham Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 82% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Great Totham Primary School?

Great Totham Primary School is at Walden House Road, Great Totham, Maldon, Essex, CM9 8PN.