The Wickford Church of England School

The Wickford Church of England School is performing exceptionally well, achieving outstanding grades in all key areas of education, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. The school has a strong emphasis on pupil well-being and high expectations, fostering a nurturing environment where pupils feel safe and valued. The curriculum is ambitious and well-planned, enabling pupils to make significant progress across all subjects, including strong reading abilities beginning in early years. This inspection marks the school's first routine check since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the positive impact of the school community during this period has been noted.

Strengths

• Outstanding quality of education across all subjects.
• Highly ambitious and well-structured curriculum.
• Strong personal development programs supporting pupils' well-being.
• Effective teaching strategies that promote high pupil engagement.
• Excellent support for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• High levels of pupil respect and positive attitudes to learning.

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 Wickford Church of England School attended 96.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.7% 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 Wickford Church of England 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 The Wickford Church of England School had 11.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.8% 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, 9.6% of pupils at The Wickford Church of England School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.5% 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 Wickford Church of England School received £7,440 and spent £7,777 for each of its 138 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £194,000 (£1,407 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of Hearts Academy Trust, income was £9,105 and spending £8,802 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 Wickford · Essex local authority: places and applications

The Wickford Church of England School is part of Hearts Academy Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Hilltop Infant School Wickford
• Hilltop Junior School Wickford
• Briscoe Primary School & Nursery Basildon
• Waterman Primary School Rochford
• Stambridge Primary School Rochford

What is The Wickford Church of England School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Wickford Church of England School is Outstanding, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was The Wickford Church of England School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Wickford Church of England School was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does The Wickford Church of England School have?

The Wickford Church of England School has 135 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Wickford Church of England School cover?

The Wickford Church of England School for pupils aged 2 to 7.

Where is The Wickford Church of England School?

The Wickford Church of England School is at Mount Road, Wickford, Essex, SS11 8HE.