Messing Primary School

Messing Primary School is performing well overall, with all key judgements rated good at this graded inspection. It is a small primary academy within New Hall Multi Academy Trust. Pupils are happy, polite and well behaved in a nurturing and inclusive environment, and leaders are ambitious for all pupils. Published outcomes have varied in recent years, but the school's actions mean current pupils are achieving better. The strongest aspects include reading and phonics, support for pupils with SEND, early years provision, and pupils' personal development. Children learn to read early, staff teach phonics effectively, and pupils who need help receive targeted support. Pupils with SEND are identified and supported well, and children in the early years get a positive start. Behaviour is extremely good, classrooms are calm, and pupils take part in a wide range of enrichment and leadership opportunities. Safeguarding is effective, staff feel supported, and governors understand the school's work. The main areas for improvement are assessment and writing across the curriculum. In some subjects, assessment is not used consistently enough to check understanding and help pupils know and remember more, and pupils do not always apply writing skills fluently across subjects. Trust board oversight is also not as developed as it could be, which means additional support is not always provided quickly enough.

Strengths

• Nurturing, caring and inclusive environment where pupils are happy and feel safe
• Pupils behave extremely well, with calm and orderly classrooms
• Strong reading and phonics provision with effective targeted interventions
• Ambitious and effective support for pupils with SEND
• Well-planned early years provision that prepares children for the next stage
• Broad personal development programme that promotes inclusivity and pupil leadership
• Wide range of enrichment opportunities, including sports, arts, choir, gardening and cooking
• Staff feel well supported and leaders are mindful of their well-being
• Governors understand the school and hold leaders to account
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment is not used consistently effectively in some subjects to check pupils' understanding and match learning to what pupils can do
• Pupils do not always practise and apply writing fluently across the curriculum
• Trustee oversight and communication with the governing body are not sufficiently developed, delaying additional support

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 Messing Primary School attended 94.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.9% 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 Messing 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 Messing Primary School had 14.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.3% 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, 22.5% of pupils at Messing Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.5% 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 Messing Primary School received £8,159 and spent £8,193 for each of its 88 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £164,000 (£1,864 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.

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What is Messing Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Messing Primary School is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was Messing Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Messing Primary School was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does Messing Primary School have?

Messing Primary School has 89 pupils on roll.

What age range does Messing Primary School cover?

Messing Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 36% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Messing Primary School?

Messing Primary School is at School Road, Messing, Colchester, Essex, CO5 9TH.