St Leonard's Church of England Primary School

Southminster Church of England Primary School has demonstrated significant improvements since its previous inadequate inspection. The school is now recognized as good across all areas, reflecting a strong commitment from leadership and staff to enhance the quality of education and student experiences. The nurturing environment ensures that pupils feel safe and supported, leading to positive behavior and engagement in learning. The curriculum is broad and ambitious, with effective approaches to phonics and reading being particularly noteworthy. However, there are still gaps in knowledge retention for some pupils, indicating that further refinements are needed in curriculum delivery and review practices.

Strengths

• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• Strong subject knowledge among staff who effectively teach the curriculum.
• A nurturing and happy environment that promotes positive pupil behavior.
• Wide-ranging support for pupils' emotional development and safety education.
• Improvements in the quality of education leading to better outcomes for pupils.
• Diligent work from leaders to provide relevant training and support for staff.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent recap of prior learning in some subjects.
• Some staff do not always follow curriculum plans closely, leading to gaps in knowledge.
• Limited opportunities for pupils to develop their talents and interests outside academics.

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 St Leonard's Church of England Primary School attended 90.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 26.6% 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, 5.1% of pupils at St Leonard's Church of England 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 St Leonard's Church of England Primary School had 27.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 33.3% 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, 22.1% of pupils at St Leonard's Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.2% 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 St Leonard's Church of England Primary School received £6,950 and spent £6,517 for each of its 253 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £40,000 (£159 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of The Diocese of Chelmsford Vine Schools Trust, income was £7,530 and spending £7,249 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 Maldon · Essex local authority: places and applications

St Leonard's Church of England Primary School is part of The Diocese of Chelmsford Vine Schools Trust, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• St Nicholas Church of England Primary School, Tillingham Southminster
• Christchurch Church of England Primary School Chelmsford
• St Cedd's Church of England Primary School Southminster
• Howbridge Church of England Junior School Witham
• Rivenhall Church of England Primary School Witham
• St Osyth Church of England Primary School Clacton-On-Sea
• St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford Basildon
• St James the Great Church of England Primary School Colchester
• Great Clacton Church of England Junior School Clacton-On-Sea
• Weeley St Andrew's CofE Primary School Clacton-On-Sea

What is St Leonard's Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Leonard's Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was St Leonard's Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Leonard's Church of England Primary School was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does St Leonard's Church of England Primary School have?

St Leonard's Church of England Primary School has 258 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Leonard's Church of England Primary School cover?

St Leonard's Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St Leonard's Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 29% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Leonard's Church of England Primary School?

St Leonard's Church of England Primary School is at Burnham Road, Southminster, Essex, CM0 7ES.