The Flitch Green Academy

The Flitch Green Academy is performing well overall, with inspectors finding good provision across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years. The school, a primary academy and the only school in its trust, has a calm and welcoming community feel. Pupils feel safe, behave well, are confident that bullying is rare and are well supported academically and personally. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. Because inspections from September 2024 do not award an overall effectiveness grade, the report does not give one, but the previous inspection grade was good. Key strengths include a well-embedded phonics and early reading programme, a curriculum that is well sequenced and increasingly ambitious, and effective adaptations for pupils with SEND. Pupils benefit from a carefully planned personal development offer, including PSHE, residential visits, clubs and pupil roles. Staff feel involved in recent changes and value professional development, while governors provide effective support and challenge. The main areas for improvement are that the new curriculum is not yet fully embedded in a few subjects, staff subject knowledge is still developing, and some pupils have gaps in foundational writing knowledge. Whole-school attendance also remains a concern, although the school has made a strong start by improving attendance for pupils who are frequently absent.

Strengths

• Strong, well-embedded phonics and early reading programme
• Effective support for pupils with SEND within the same curriculum
• Well-sequenced curriculum with opportunities to revisit important concepts
• Pupils are polite, friendly and typically engage well with learning
• Broad personal development offer including PSHE, residentials, clubs and pupil roles
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Staff feel involved in changes and have access to professional development
• Governors provide effective support and challenge

Areas for Improvement

• New curriculum content is not yet fully embedded in a few subjects
• Staff subject knowledge is still developing for new curriculum content
• Writing curriculum does not yet secure the foundational knowledge some pupils need to become fluent writers
• Whole-school absence work is not yet having a significant impact on overall attendance
• Some pupils find it difficult to recall important subject content

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 The Flitch Green Academy attended 94.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.0% 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, 0.0% of pupils at The Flitch Green Academy 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 The Flitch Green Academy had 18.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.3% 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, 14.0% of pupils at The Flitch Green Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.8% 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 2024–25 The Flitch Green Academy received £6,400 and spent £6,974 for each of its 265 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £39,000 (£147 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Dunmow · Essex local authority: places and applications

What is The Flitch Green Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Flitch Green Academy is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was The Flitch Green Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

The Flitch Green Academy was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does The Flitch Green Academy have?

The Flitch Green Academy has 272 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Flitch Green Academy cover?

The Flitch Green Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are The Flitch Green Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 38% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is The Flitch Green Academy?

The Flitch Green Academy is at Tanton Road, Little Dunmow, Dunmow, Essex, CM6 3GG.