Thundersley Primary School

Thundersley Primary School demonstrates a good level of overall effectiveness, with exceptional performance in behaviour and attitudes, as well as personal development. Pupils are notably safe, happy, and engaged, reflecting a strong school culture supported by rich and varied learning experiences. The curriculum is well-structured, enabling pupils to build upon their knowledge effectively. Staff have demonstrated strong subject knowledge and provide valuable support to pupils, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, there are areas for improvement, particularly regarding reading fluency and vocabulary understanding for some pupils.

Strengths

• Pupils exhibit outstanding behaviour and engagement in lessons.
• The school provides a rich array of extracurricular clubs enhancing personal development.
• A well-structured curriculum ensures pupils build on their prior knowledge.
• Staff are well-trained and knowledgeable in delivering the curriculum effectively.
• Leaders support pupils with SEND to access the curriculum successfully.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils do not have enough opportunities to develop reading fluency and vocabulary understanding.

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 Thundersley Primary School attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.9% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Thundersley 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 Thundersley Primary School had 23.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.4% 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, 14.4% of pupils at Thundersley Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.8% 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 Thundersley Primary School received £6,102 and spent £5,839 for each of its 456 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £518,000 (£1,135 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of Robus Multi Academy Trust, income was £6,307 and spending £6,279 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 Benfleet · Essex local authority: places and applications

Thundersley Primary School is part of Robus Multi Academy Trust, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• Kingston Primary School Thundersley
• Jotmans Hall Primary School Benfleet
• Woodham Ley Primary School Benfleet
• Montgomerie Primary School Benfleet

What is Thundersley Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Thundersley Primary School is Good, from an inspection in July 2023.

When was Thundersley Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Thundersley Primary School was last inspected in July 2023.

How many pupils does Thundersley Primary School have?

Thundersley Primary School has 423 pupils on roll.

What age range does Thundersley Primary School cover?

Thundersley Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Thundersley Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 67% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Thundersley Primary School?

Thundersley Primary School is at Hart Road, Thundersley, Benfleet, Essex, SS7 3PT.