Benhurst Primary School

Benhurst Primary School is a caring, welcoming and diverse community where pupils feel safe and are kept safe. Pupils are proud of their school, behave well most of the time, and trust staff to deal with any worries or bullying. The school has high expectations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and pupils achieve highly across key stages. The curriculum is ambitious and builds knowledge over time, with particularly strong early reading and phonics support. Teachers generally have sound subject knowledge and revisit prior learning effectively, while pupils benefit from a wide range of trips, clubs and opportunities to contribute to school life. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and leaders are taking action on attendance. Some curriculum changes are not yet fully embedded, and delivery is not consistently strong across all subjects. Adaptations are not always made so that all pupils can access learning at the right level, and the new behaviour policy is not applied consistently, which occasionally leads to low-level disruption. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it remains part of the Life Education Trust.

Strengths

• Caring and welcoming school community where pupils feel safe
• Pupils are proud of the school’s diversity
• High expectations for all pupils, including those with SEND
• Pupils achieve highly across key stages
• Strong early reading and phonics provision with effective catch-up support
• Ambitious curriculum that builds knowledge over time
• Teachers generally have sound subject knowledge and revisit prior learning
• Pupils with SEND are identified promptly and usually well supported
• Wide range of trips, clubs and pupil leadership opportunities
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Leaders take effective action on attendance and persistent absence
• Governors understand safeguarding duties and challenge leaders appropriately

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum changes are not fully embedded in some subjects
• Curriculum delivery is not consistently strong across all areas
• Adaptations are not consistently made so all pupils can access learning at a suitable level
• The new behaviour policy is not applied consistently by staff
• Low-level disruption and calling out sometimes interrupt learning
• Some staff have struggled with the pace and number of recent changes

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 Benhurst Primary School attended 93.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 19.9% 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, 1.5% of pupils at Benhurst 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 Benhurst Primary School had 27.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 39.8% 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, 14.9% of pupils at Benhurst Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.7% 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 Benhurst Primary School received £7,076 and spent £6,821 for each of its 411 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £536,000 (£1,304 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of Life Education Trust, income was £8,392 and spending £8,145 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 Havering · Havering local authority: places and applications

Benhurst Primary School is part of Life Education Trust, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• The Frances Bardsley Academy for Girls Romford
• Dame Tipping Church of England Primary School Romford
• Margaretting Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Ingatestone
• Dr Walker's CofE Primary School Ongar
• Roxwell Church of England Primary School Chelmsford
• Ford End Church of England Primary School Chelmsford
• Chappel CofE Controlled Primary School Colchester
• Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, Eight Ash Green and Aldham Colchester
• Fordham All Saints CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School Colchester
• Langenhoe Community Primary School Colchester

What is Benhurst Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Benhurst Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Benhurst Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Benhurst Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Benhurst Primary School have?

Benhurst Primary School has 410 pupils on roll.

What age range does Benhurst Primary School cover?

Benhurst Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Benhurst Primary School?

Benhurst Primary School is at Benhurst Avenue, Elm Park, Hornchurch, Essex, RM12 4QS.