Waterman Primary School

Waterman Primary School is a small, growing school that has recently expanded from three to four mixed-age classes and serves a community with a very high proportion of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND. This full inspection, the first since the appointment of a new head of school in September 2025, found the school to be performing at the expected standard overall, with leadership and governance and personal development and wellbeing judged as strong standard. Leaders have rebuilt relationships with parents and the community through openness and warmth, creating a happy and harmonious school where pupils feel known, supported and safe. Staff trust leaders, workload is manageable, and the trust provides high-quality professional development. Safeguarding standards are met.

Strengths

• Leadership and governance are strong, with a clear moral purpose and effective trust oversight.
• Personal development and wellbeing are strong, with a broad offer that includes bespoke support and rich pastoral care.
• Pupils feel safe, known and supported, and behaviour is typically positive.
• The school has a calm, sociable and joyful atmosphere with kind friendships and effective inclusion.
• Early years provision is strong, with children making good progress and high-quality support for those with additional needs.
• Pupils with SEND make meaningful progress from their starting points, and disadvantaged pupils achieve well.
• Leaders use pupil premium funding effectively, recognised by a government letter.
• The school has a wide extra-curricular offer, including an onsite swimming pool that is a highlight.

Areas for Improvement

• Approaches to support pupils with SEND are not used consistently well across the school, which can affect how confidently pupils complete tasks.
• Pupils' recall can be surface-level, and staff need to help pupils make clearer connections in their learning so key ideas stick.
• Staff responses to pupils who need extra help to meet expectations in lessons vary, and agreed approaches are not always used consistently.
• Leaders need to strengthen the effectiveness of staff interactions with children in the early years so that learning is routinely extended.
• Published attendance figures are below national average, and persistent absence is above national average.
• In 2024/25, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics combined was below the national average.

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 Waterman Primary School attended 93.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 28.6% 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, 7.5% of pupils at Waterman 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 Waterman Primary School had 13.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 44.4% 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, 38.8% of pupils at Waterman Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 11.9% 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 Waterman Primary School received £24,017 and spent £23,103 for each of its 48 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £68,000 (£1,407 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of Hearts Academy Trust, income was £9,105 and spending £8,802 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 Rochford · Essex local authority: places and applications

Waterman Primary School is part of Hearts Academy Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Stambridge Primary School Rochford
• Hilltop Junior School Wickford
• Hilltop Infant School Wickford
• The Wickford Church of England School Wickford
• Briscoe Primary School & Nursery Basildon

What is Waterman Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Waterman Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Waterman Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Waterman Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Waterman Primary School have?

Waterman Primary School has 67 pupils on roll.

What age range does Waterman Primary School cover?

Waterman Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 50% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Waterman Primary School?

Waterman Primary School is at The Boulevard, Rochford, Essex, SS4 1QF.