Brinkley Grove Primary School

Brinkley Grove Primary School has demonstrated strengths in caring for its pupils and fostering a supportive environment, although recent ungraded inspections indicate that some aspects of the school's operations may not be as strong as previous evaluations. The school provides commendable care, with parents expressing satisfaction regarding the support offered to students. However, there are concerns regarding the ambitions set for younger pupils, as well as inconsistencies in the delivery of the curriculum across different year groups, particularly in early reading and foundational skills.

Strengths

• Pupils receive a high level of care and support.
• Older pupils exhibit excellent focus and take pride in their work.
• The curriculum is well designed to build on prior learning.
• Teachers provide targeted support to pupils, including those with SEND.
• Pupils display impeccable behaviour throughout most year groups.
• Reception pupils engage eagerly in various activities.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum delivery is inconsistent in some younger year groups.
• Not all adults are sufficiently well trained to meet the needs of all pupils.
• Some teachers do not effectively use assessment to identify gaps in knowledge.
• Expectations for pupil behaviour are not consistently high in younger years.

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 Brinkley Grove Primary School attended 93.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.6% 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, 4.0% of pupils at Brinkley Grove 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 Brinkley Grove Primary School had 22.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.8% 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, 17.6% of pupils at Brinkley Grove Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.2% 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 Brinkley Grove Primary School received £6,901 and spent £6,480 for each of its 403 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £471,000 (£1,169 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 Colchester · Essex local authority: places and applications

What is Brinkley Grove Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Brinkley Grove Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Brinkley Grove Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Brinkley Grove Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Brinkley Grove Primary School have?

Brinkley Grove Primary School has 403 pupils on roll.

What age range does Brinkley Grove Primary School cover?

Brinkley Grove Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are Brinkley Grove Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 76% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Brinkley Grove Primary School?

Brinkley Grove Primary School is at Rawlings Crescent, Highwoods, Colchester, Essex, CO4 9GF.