Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery

Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery is an inclusive and caring school where positive relationships help pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, feel included, safe and happy. Inspectors found the school performing well across its key areas: the curriculum is ambitious and carefully sequenced, early years provision is strong, pupils generally behave well, bullying is rare, and safeguarding is effective. Pupils benefit from a broad personal development offer, including clubs, trips and leadership roles, and staff value the professional development and workload support provided by leaders and the trust. The school is part of BMAT Academies Trust. At the time of the inspection, the head of school was not in school and an acting head had been in post for four weeks. Inspectors found clear strategic direction from the trust and effective challenge and support from the local governing board. This was a graded inspection under the current framework, which does not issue an overall effectiveness grade. The main areas for improvement are consistency in checking pupils’ understanding before introducing new content, so that misconceptions are addressed and learning is not superficial in a small number of subjects, and developing pupils’ enjoyment of reading so that more pupils read confidently by the end of key stage two.

Strengths

• Inclusive community with respectful, caring relationships
• Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, feel included and participate fully
• Ambitious, carefully designed curriculum sequenced to build on prior learning
• Strong early years provision with carefully planned activities
• Effective support for pupils with SEND so they access the same curriculum as peers
• Well-trained staff deliver phonics effectively and help at-risk pupils catch up
• Most pupils behave well and have positive attitudes to learning
• Bullying is rare and resolved quickly
• Broad personal development offer including clubs, trips and leadership opportunities
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Strong trust and local governing board support; staff value professional development and workload consideration

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, pupils’ understanding is not systematically checked before new content is introduced
• This can lead to superficial understanding and misconceptions not being addressed
• Too few pupils develop sufficient enjoyment in reading to read confidently by the end of key stage two

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 Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery attended 92.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.6% 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, 7.2% of pupils at Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 5 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 Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery had 19.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 29.9% 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, 20.1% of pupils at Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.1% 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 Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery received £7,782 and spent £7,621 for each of its 437 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £229,000 (£525 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of Bmat Education, income was £8,609 and spending £8,507 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 Harlow · Essex local authority: places and applications

Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery is part of Bmat Education, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• Burnt Mill Academy Harlow
• Freshwaters Primary Academy Harlow
• Mark Hall Academy Harlow
• Bmat Stem Academy Harlow
• Sir Frederick Gibberd College Harlow
• Little Parndon Primary Academy Harlow
• Roydon Primary Academy Harlow
• Epping St John's Church of England School Epping
• Forest Hall School Stansted Mountfitchet
• Magna Carta Primary Academy Stansted Mountfitchet

What is Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery last inspected by Ofsted?

Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery have?

Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery has 443 pupils on roll.

What age range does Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery cover?

Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 38% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery?

Cooks Spinney Primary Academy and Nursery is at Cooks Spinney, Harlow, Essex, CM20 3BW.