Longwood Primary Academy

Longwood Primary Academy remains a good school, providing a warm and inclusive environment where students feel safe and valued. The school has successfully implemented an ambitious curriculum that emphasizes vital knowledge and skills, particularly in early reading, where pupils excel. Relationships between staff and students are strong, fostering a respectful and harmonious atmosphere. Parents express high levels of satisfaction with the school's commitment to student welfare and development. The recent staffing changes have been effectively managed by trust leaders, ensuring continuity in pupil support and curriculum delivery.

Strengths

• Strong early reading program with effective phonics instruction.
• Pupils enjoy a rich curriculum that includes life skills and outdoor experiences.
• Positive behavior and respectful relationships among pupils.
• Effective support for students with special educational needs.
• Highly positive feedback from parents about the school's provision.

Areas for Improvement

• School improvement planning lacks specificity and focus.
• Monitoring of school improvement priorities is not sufficiently sharp.

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 Longwood Primary Academy attended 94.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.5% 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, 1.2% of pupils at Longwood Primary Academy 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 Longwood Primary Academy had 17.1 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, 15.6% of pupils at Longwood Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.4% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 16 pupils.

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 Longwood Primary Academy received £8,439 and spent £1,181 for each of its 420 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £638,000 (£1,520 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Net Academies Trust, income was £7,282 and spending £2,722 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

Longwood Primary Academy is part of Net Academies Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Abbotsweld Primary Academy Harlow
• Latton Green Primary Academy Harlow
• Jerounds Primary Academy Harlow
• Katherines Primary Academy and Nursery Harlow
• Tany's Dell Primary School and Nursery Harlow
• Fawbert and Barnard's Primary School Old Harlow
• Harlowbury Primary School Harlow
• Waltham Holy Cross Primary Academy Waltham Abbey

What is Longwood Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Longwood Primary Academy is Good, from an inspection in June 2023.

When was Longwood Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Longwood Primary Academy was last inspected in June 2023.

How many pupils does Longwood Primary Academy have?

Longwood Primary Academy has 423 pupils on roll.

What age range does Longwood Primary Academy cover?

Longwood Primary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Longwood Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 77% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Longwood Primary Academy?

Longwood Primary Academy is at Paringdon Road, Harlow, Essex, CM18 7RQ.