Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery

Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery is a caring, inclusive school where pupils feel happy and safe. Inspectors found the school meeting expected standards in attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing, with safeguarding requirements met. Leaders have stabilised the school after staffing and leadership changes, introduced the ‘Rolph Way’ and clearer behaviour expectations, and improved support for vulnerable pupils. The main concern is achievement. Published national test outcomes have been inconsistent and below national averages, including for disadvantaged pupils, and some older pupils still have gaps in reading, writing and mathematics because they did not experience the current quality of curriculum and teaching. Leaders have accurately identified this and are using interventions, assessment and curriculum refinement to address it; early years and phonics are showing signs of improvement. The school is part of The Diocese of Chelmsford Vine Schools Trust, and governance and trust support are effective. Inspectors’ next steps focus on embedding the refreshed curriculum consistently, strengthening professional learning, securing foundational English and mathematics knowledge, and continuing to improve attendance and persistent absence.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, safe and proud of their caring school community.
• Behaviour has improved through clear ‘3 Bs’ expectations and consistent staff application.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture and effective response to concerns.
• Leaders have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and have set the right improvement priorities.
• Governance and trust oversight are effective, providing appropriate support and challenge.
• Inclusion is strong: pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils receive timely, tailored support.
• Early years provides a positive, settled start with strong communication and language provision.
• Personal development is a high priority, with a wide range of clubs, sports, visits and leadership roles.
• Pupils understand bullying and online safety and trust adults to act.
• Staff feel supported, and leaders consider wellbeing and workload.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement is the area needing attention, with published outcomes below national averages over time.
• Some older pupils, particularly in key stage 2, have gaps in foundational reading, writing and mathematics knowledge.
• Disadvantaged pupils’ attainment is well below national averages and the disadvantage gap is wide.
• Curriculum implementation remains inconsistent, including decisions about what is taught and when.
• The culture of professional learning needs further strengthening to improve teaching consistency.
• Persistent absence is above the national average, although leaders are taking action.
• Pupils have limited opportunities to share their views about school life.

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 Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery attended 94.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.9% 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, 1.3% of pupils at Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery 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 Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery had 23.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.7% 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, 18.2% of pupils at Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.7% 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 Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery received £6,316 and spent £6,513 for each of its 230 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £348,000 (£1,513 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.

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All schools in Clacton-On-Sea · Essex local authority: places and applications

Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery is part of The Diocese of Chelmsford Vine Schools Trust, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• Weeley St Andrew's CofE Primary School Clacton-On-Sea
• Great Clacton Church of England Junior School Clacton-On-Sea
• St Osyth Church of England Primary School Clacton-On-Sea
• St James the Great Church of England Primary School Colchester
• St Cedd's Church of England Primary School Southminster
• St Nicholas Church of England Primary School, Tillingham Southminster
• St Leonard's Church of England Primary School Southminster
• Colne Engaine Church of England Primary School
• Rivenhall Church of England Primary School Witham
• Christchurch Church of England Primary School Chelmsford

What is Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery is Needs attention, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery last inspected by Ofsted?

Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery have?

Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery has 231 pupils on roll.

What age range does Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery cover?

Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 27% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery?

Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery is at High Street, Thorpe-le-Soken, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, CO16 0DY.