Thameside Primary School

Thameside Primary School is a good school across all key judgements. Pupils are happy, feel safe and behave well in a calm and caring environment, and relationships between pupils and staff are strong. The curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced, and pupils, including those with SEND and those new to learning English, access it successfully. Early reading and early years provision are particularly positive, and the school prioritises attendance and personal development. The provision for pupils with SEND is a clear strength. Leaders work closely with parents, carers and staff to identify needs and provide a wide range of support, which is regularly reviewed and adapted. Pupils with SEND learn well and are happy in school. The trust and school leaders work effectively together, and staff feel appreciated and supported. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main area for improvement is consistency in how the curriculum is implemented. In some lessons, staff do not correct important misconceptions or provide activities that best help pupils remember key knowledge, so pupils do not always make the progress they could. Published 2023 outcomes do not fully reflect the curriculum’s impact, partly because many pupils join mid-year or in older year groups. The school has also experienced considerable disruption over the last year due to the removal of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, and this was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Strengths

• Ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum
• Pupils behave well and feel safe
• Calm, caring environment with positive relationships
• Strong early reading provision starting in Nursery
• Effective early years provision that prepares children well for Year 1
• High expectations of pupils’ behaviour
• Clear focus on improving attendance
• SEND provision is a strength
• Wide range of sporting and personal development opportunities
• Pupils contribute well to school and community
• Trust and school leaders work effectively together
• Staff feel appreciated and supported
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation is not consistently strong in all lessons
• Staff sometimes do not correct pupils’ important misconceptions
• Some activities do not best help pupils remember key knowledge
• Pupils do not always make the progress they are capable of in these lessons

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 Thameside Primary School attended 94.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.5% 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, 3.3% of pupils at Thameside Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Thameside Primary School had 21.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 25.1% 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, 16.7% of pupils at Thameside Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 1 pupil.

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 Thameside Primary School received £6,673 and spent £6,664 for each of its 854 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £537,000 (£629 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of Osborne Co-Operative Academy Trust, income was £7,718 and spending £7,773 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 Grays · Thurrock local authority: places and applications

Thameside Primary School is part of Osborne Co-Operative Academy Trust, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• Thames Park Secondary School Grays
• Little Thurrock Primary School Grays
• Warren Primary School Grays
• Bonnygate Primary School South Ockendon
• East Tilbury Primary School East Tilbury
• St Clere's School Stanford-Le-Hope
• Horndon-On-the-Hill CofE Primary School Stanford-Le-Hope
• Stanford-Le-Hope Primary School Stanford-Le-Hope
• Arthur Bugler Primary School Stanford-Le-Hope
• Brentwood County High School Brentwood

What is Thameside Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Thameside Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Thameside Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Thameside Primary School have?

Thameside Primary School has 844 pupils on roll.

What age range does Thameside Primary School cover?

Thameside Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 45% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Thameside Primary School?

Thameside Primary School is at Manor Road, Grays, Essex, RM17 6EF.