Rayleigh Primary School

Rayleigh Primary School has made a strong start in its journey since becoming an academy, achieving a 'Good' rating across all categories except for Early Years provision, which stands out as 'Outstanding'. The school benefits from a committed leadership team that sets high expectations for both learning and behaviour, creating a positive school culture where pupils feel safe and engaged. Despite some challenges stemming from previous leadership instability, the school is well-supported by the Schools For Every Child multi-academy trust, which helps maintain high educational standards and a vision shared by teachers and governors.

Strengths

• Strong leadership and management with a clear vision for the school.
• Outstanding early years provision that fosters positive behaviours and eagerness to learn.
• High expectations for pupil behaviour and academic achievement.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• Broad and ambitious curriculum that includes strong focus on reading and mathematics.
• Pupils engage in a variety of extra-curricular activities that enhance personal development.

Areas for Improvement

• In some areas, the curriculum does not build precisely on prior learning, leading to gaps in 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 Rayleigh Primary School attended 96.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.6% 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, 1.7% of pupils at Rayleigh 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 Rayleigh Primary School had 27.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 38.3% 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, 10.2% of pupils at Rayleigh Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.6% 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 Rayleigh Primary School received £6,323 and spent £6,019 for each of its 438 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £3,000 (-£8 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of Schools for Every Child, income was £6,983 and spending £6,652 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 Rayleigh · Essex local authority: places and applications

Rayleigh Primary School is part of Schools for Every Child, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• Wyburns Primary School Rayleigh
• North Crescent Primary School Wickford

What is Rayleigh Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Rayleigh Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Rayleigh Primary School was last inspected in May 2024.

How many pupils does Rayleigh Primary School have?

Rayleigh Primary School has 463 pupils on roll.

What age range does Rayleigh Primary School cover?

Rayleigh Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

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

Where is Rayleigh Primary School?

Rayleigh Primary School is at Love Lane, Rayleigh, Essex, SS6 7DD.