Mersea Island School

Type Primary / Foundation school
Age Range 2-11
Religion Unknown
Address Barfield Road
West Mersea
Colchester
Essex
CO5 8QX
Phone 01206382736
Reference Number 115311

Mersea Island School is performing at a good level overall, demonstrating several strengths in its educational approach. Pupils are happy and motivated to learn, with positive attitudes towards their education. The school’s values are effectively integrated into daily life, and pupils feel safe and supported. There is a strong focus on an ambitious curriculum that takes advantage of the school's unique seaside location, and teachers are well-prepared to help students, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. While the curriculum has been thoughtfully designed and is engaging, it is acknowledged that some recent changes are still in the process of being fully established. This has led to some inconsistencies in pupils’ knowledge across certain subjects. However, the leadership team is actively working on embedding improvements and enhancing the overall educational outcomes for the students. This inspection is the first since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the context has been considered in the evaluation of the school's performance.

General Makeup

Number of pupils 393
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 53.94%
Girls: 46.06%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 19.6%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 1.3%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 23.9
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 24.8
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 23.6

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 24 28 52
2 25 28 53
3 24 28 52
4 24 18 42
5 42 27 69
6 28 23 51

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 91.3%
Mixed, Other 3.1%
White, Other 2.3%
White & Black (African) 1.5%
White & Black (Caribbean) 1%
Asian, Other 0.3%

Overall Ofsted Rating Good
 >  Quality of education Good
  >  Behaviour & Attitude Good
  >  Personal Development Good
  >  Leadership & Management Good
  >  Early Years Provision Good
Last Report Date 02 Mar 2023
Date Report
02 Mar 2023 School inspection:
12 Jul 2016 Full inspection:
21 Oct 2014 Monitoring visit
14 May 2014 Full inspection:
15 Jan 2013 Interim assessment
30 Nov 2009 Full inspection:
17 May 2007 Full inspection:
22 Apr 2002 Full inspection

Strengths

  • Pupils are motivated and have high aspirations.
  • The school environment promotes good behaviour and well-being.
  • Strong curriculum planning that builds knowledge over time.
  • Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
  • Staff have high expectations and strong subject knowledge.
  • The reading curriculum is a particular strength.
  • Pupils feel safe and valued within the school community.

Areas for Improvement

  • Recent curriculum changes are not yet fully embedded.
  • There are gaps in some pupils’ knowledge in certain areas.
  • Outcomes for some subjects have been inconsistent.

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 56%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 12%

Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Subject School Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 104
Maths 105

Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 0.5
Writing 1.3
Maths -1.1

How many students meet the standards

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Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Sample

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Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

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2025 Admissions

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 1 0
Third Preference 3 0
From another Local Authority 0 0

Previous Years

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Name Distance
St Cedd's Church of England Primary School
East End Road, Bradwell-on-Sea, Southminster, Essex, CM0 7PY
3.68 miles
Tollesbury School
East Street, Tollesbury, Maldon, Essex, CM9 8QE
3.75 miles
Langenhoe Community Primary School
Bracken Way, Abberton, Colchester, Essex, CO5 7PG
3.77 miles
Fingringhoe Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
Church Road, Fingringhoe, Colchester, Essex, CO5 7BN
4.85 miles
Name Distance
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