South Benfleet Primary School

South Benfleet Primary School continues to perform effectively, maintaining the standards identified in its previous inspection. Pupils enjoy a warm and inviting environment, showing eagerness to learn and participate in community activities. There are strong routines and high expectations that help children settle quickly and develop into confident learners from an early age. The school offers a well-rounded curriculum with various experiences that enrich students' learning, establishing a sense of pride and responsibility among pupils.

Strengths

• Pupils are eager to learn and enjoy attending school.
• The curriculum is well-designed, setting out important knowledge for students.
• Staff provide effective training to enhance subject knowledge.
• Pupils achieve well in reading, thanks to targeted support.
• Behaviour is very good, with clear expectations established from the outset.
• Pupils with SEND receive effective and personalized support.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, pupils do not consistently connect new learning with prior knowledge.

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 South Benfleet Primary School attended 96.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.8% 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, 0.7% of pupils at South Benfleet 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 South Benfleet Primary School had 23.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.2% 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, 15.5% of pupils at South Benfleet Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.7% 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 South Benfleet Primary School received £5,785 and spent £6,068 for each of its 409 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £495,000 (£1,210 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 Benfleet · Essex local authority: places and applications

What is South Benfleet Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for South Benfleet Primary School is Good, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was South Benfleet Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

South Benfleet Primary School was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does South Benfleet Primary School have?

South Benfleet Primary School has 414 pupils on roll.

What age range does South Benfleet Primary School cover?

South Benfleet Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are South Benfleet Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 78% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is South Benfleet Primary School?

South Benfleet Primary School is at High Road, South Benfleet, Benfleet, Essex, SS7 5HA.