Upshire Primary Foundation School

Upshire Primary Foundation School has been through a period of change, including new leadership since its last inspection, and this was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. Inspectors found strengths in personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision, with effective safeguarding and a positive culture where pupils feel safe and are encouraged to be responsible citizens. Pupils generally behave well and enjoy improved playtimes, and most achieve well in reading and mathematics, with writing also improving through well-considered teaching approaches. However, the quality of education and behaviour and attitudes require improvement. In several subjects, the school has introduced new curriculums but has not rigorously checked gaps in pupils' knowledge, so some learning activities do not closely match what pupils know and can do. This can slow progress, particularly for pupils with SEND, and some pupils are overly reliant on adult support. The school also has not fully mapped the knowledge and skills children need in the early years to prepare them for some Year 1 subjects. A small minority of pupils display more persistent negative behaviour that is not consistently checked or challenged, which occasionally disrupts their learning and that of others. Leaders are taking action to develop curriculum subjects and make behaviour approaches more consistent, and staff are generally positive about workload and well-being. The school now needs to ensure that checks on prior knowledge are used effectively, that early years learning is carefully sequenced across all subjects, and that all pupils receive effective behaviour support.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and are attentive to staff support
• Pupils enjoy extra responsibilities and feel part of the community
• Most pupils achieve well in reading and mathematics
• Well-considered teaching approaches have improved pupils' writing
• Effective daily phonics helps children develop strong reading skills
• Older pupils needing reading help receive effective targeted support
• Pupils with SEND have their needs identified effectively and receive tailored support
• Pupils' personal development is well developed, including empathy and respect for others
• Playtimes have improved through well-chosen equipment and support
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Staff and leaders work together on improvement and staff well-being is generally supported

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, the school has not rigorously checked gaps in pupils' knowledge
• Some learning activities are too challenging because they do not build on prior understanding
• Pupils with SEND sometimes receive work that is too complicated, slowing progress
• Some pupils are overly reliant on adult support
• Early years knowledge and skills are not carefully mapped for some Year 1 subjects
• A small minority of pupils display persistent negative behaviour that is not effectively challenged
• Negative behaviour sometimes disrupts learning for those pupils and others
• New curriculums have not yet had full impact in some subjects

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 Upshire Primary Foundation School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.8% 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, 5.9% of pupils at Upshire Primary Foundation 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 Upshire Primary Foundation School had 26.8 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, 15.2% of pupils at Upshire Primary Foundation School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.1% 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 Upshire Primary Foundation School received £9,745 and spent £9,931 for each of its 198 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £174,000 (£880 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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• Secondary Schools

All schools in Waltham Abbey · Essex local authority: places and applications

What is Upshire Primary Foundation School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Upshire Primary Foundation School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Upshire Primary Foundation School last inspected by Ofsted?

Upshire Primary Foundation School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Upshire Primary Foundation School have?

Upshire Primary Foundation School has 198 pupils on roll.

What age range does Upshire Primary Foundation School cover?

Upshire Primary Foundation School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 37% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Upshire Primary Foundation School?

Upshire Primary Foundation School is at Upshire Road, Upshire, Waltham Abbey, Essex, EN9 3PX.