Sir Martin Frobisher Academy

Sir Martin Frobisher Academy is a primary sponsor-led academy within the REAch2 Academy Trust. It was previously judged to require improvement, and this July 2025 graded inspection found substantial progress: the quality of education and behaviour and attitudes are good, while personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision are outstanding. No overall effectiveness grade is awarded for graded inspections from September 2024. Pupils are described as happy, proud, engaged and well behaved, with strong pastoral care and a wide range of enrichment experiences. The school’s curriculum is carefully constructed and prioritises key knowledge, with particularly effective support for early reading. Provision for pupils with SEND is exceptionally inclusive, and the early years curriculum gives children a strong foundation. Enrichment, including the ‘11 before 11’ initiative, contributes significantly to pupils’ character and resilience. Leadership is relentless in pursuing the best outcomes, staff feel well supported, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main area for improvement is that teaching does not consistently connect new knowledge and concepts to pupils’ prior learning, which can create gaps in understanding and make recall more difficult. Leaders recognise this and are working to ensure that curriculum links are explicit and that all subjects are of comparable high quality.

Strengths

• Carefully constructed curriculum prioritises key knowledge
• Early reading support is regular, tailored and highly effective
• Exceptionally inclusive provision for pupils with SEND
• Outstanding early years provision with strong routines and high-quality support
• Rich enrichment programme, including the ‘11 before 11’ initiative
• Pupils behave well and demonstrate mutual respect and resilience
• Strong pastoral care and effective safeguarding arrangements
• Leadership is relentless, well supported by the trust, and staff feel valued

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching does not consistently connect new knowledge and concepts to pupils’ prior learning
• Some subjects do not yet make explicit links to prior learning, limiting pupils’ ability to build on earlier concepts

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 Sir Martin Frobisher Academy attended 89.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 36.2% 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, 9.2% of pupils at Sir Martin Frobisher 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 Sir Martin Frobisher Academy had 19.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 29.6% 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, 36.8% of pupils at Sir Martin Frobisher Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.5% 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 Sir Martin Frobisher Academy received £9,383 and spent £11,351 for each of its 185 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £42,000 (£228 per pupil).

Across all 65 schools of Reach2 Academy Trust, income was £7,346 and spending £7,105 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 Clacton-On-Sea · Essex local authority: places and applications

Sir Martin Frobisher Academy is part of Reach2 Academy Trust, which runs 65 schools. The nearest others:

• Burrsville Infant Academy Clacton-On-Sea
• Kirby Primary Academy Frinton-On-Sea
• Unity Primary Academy Colchester
• Camulos Academy Colchester
• Sprites Primary Academy Ipswich
• Martlesham Primary Academy Woodbridge
• Kemsley Primary Academy Sittingbourne
• Milton Court Primary Academy Sittingbourne
• Tymberwood Academy Gravesend
• Copperfield Academy Gravesend

What is Sir Martin Frobisher Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sir Martin Frobisher Academy is Good, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Sir Martin Frobisher Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Sir Martin Frobisher Academy was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Sir Martin Frobisher Academy have?

Sir Martin Frobisher Academy has 171 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sir Martin Frobisher Academy cover?

Sir Martin Frobisher Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Sir Martin Frobisher Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 76% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Sir Martin Frobisher Academy?

Sir Martin Frobisher Academy is at Frobisher Drive, Jaywick, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, CO15 2QH.