Howbridge Church of England Junior School

Howbridge Church of England Junior School has shown notable improvement since its previous inspection, now achieving a 'Good' rating across all domains. The school emphasizes values such as friendship, compassion, and perseverance, which contribute to an inclusive atmosphere where pupils feel proud of their work and engage positively with their learning. The curriculum is ambitious and well-structured, promoting a love of reading and encouraging pupils to connect knowledge across subjects. Despite these strengths, there are areas for growth, particularly in managing more complex pupil behaviors and maintaining effective oversight of behavior incidents.

Strengths

• Strong emphasis on values of friendship, compassion, and perseverance
• Inclusive environment with a strong understanding of diversity
• High-quality curriculum that is broad, balanced, and ambitious
• Effective support for special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)
• Pupils engage in a variety of extracurricular activities, enhancing their learning experience
• Strong subject knowledge shown by teachers
• Effective personal development program that fosters leadership skills

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent management of complex pupil behaviors
• Lack of clear overview of behavior incidents for effective monitoring

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 Howbridge Church of England Junior School attended 92.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 21.3% 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, 6.2% of pupils at Howbridge Church of England Junior School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Howbridge Church of England Junior School had 27.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 36.4% 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, 18.0% of pupils at Howbridge Church of England Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.0% 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 Howbridge Church of England Junior School received £6,995 and spent £6,387 for each of its 357 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £173,000 (£483 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 Witham · Essex local authority: places and applications

Howbridge Church of England Junior School is part of The Diocese of Chelmsford Vine Schools Trust, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• Rivenhall Church of England Primary School Witham
• Christchurch Church of England Primary School Chelmsford
• Colne Engaine Church of England Primary School
• St Cedd's Church of England Primary School Southminster
• St Leonard's Church of England Primary School Southminster
• St Nicholas Church of England Primary School, Tillingham Southminster
• St James the Great Church of England Primary School Colchester
• St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, Great Yeldham Halstead
• St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford Basildon
• Ridgewell Church of England Primary School Halstead

What is Howbridge Church of England Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Howbridge Church of England Junior School is Good, from an inspection in January 2024.

When was Howbridge Church of England Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Howbridge Church of England Junior School was last inspected in January 2024.

How many pupils does Howbridge Church of England Junior School have?

Howbridge Church of England Junior School has 356 pupils on roll.

What age range does Howbridge Church of England Junior School cover?

Howbridge Church of England Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Howbridge Church of England Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 51% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Howbridge Church of England Junior School?

Howbridge Church of England Junior School is at Howbridge Road, Witham, Essex, CM8 1BZ.