Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery

Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery is a caring school where pupils feel safe, enjoy learning and behave well. Behaviour and personal development are strong, with a wide range of clubs, trips and leadership opportunities helping pupils to thrive. Safeguarding is effective, and leaders have a secure understanding of the school’s priorities and have already improved behaviour and attendance. However, the quality of education, leadership and management, and early years provision are not yet good. Expectations for what pupils can achieve are not consistently high enough, and assessment and feedback are uneven, so pupils do not always deepen their knowledge or know how to improve their work. Early reading is a priority, but phonics delivery is inconsistent and older pupils who struggle to read do not always receive timely support, meaning too many pupils do not become fluent readers. Support for pupils with SEND has improved, but needs are not always identified accurately and staff guidance is not consistently clear. In early years, the curriculum lacks detail in several areas, and some children, including those with SEND, do not receive consistently high-quality support in writing, phonics and language and communication. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and since several new senior leaders were appointed. Inspectors recognised that leaders, trustees and governors are committed to further improvement and that staff feel well supported.

Strengths

• Caring and kind relationships between staff and pupils
• Pupils enjoy school and feel safe
• Wide range of clubs, trips and leadership opportunities
• Positive pupil behaviour and calm, focused lessons
• Broad, embedded curriculum in many areas
• Teachers often explain new concepts clearly and build pupils’ understanding
• Significant progress in SEND care and emotional support
• Well-structured personal development programme
• Leaders and governors understand the school’s priorities
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment and feedback are inconsistent, so pupils do not always know how to improve
• Expectations for what pupils can achieve are not consistently high enough
• Work does not always allow pupils to deepen their knowledge and understanding
• Phonics programme is not delivered consistently by all staff
• Older pupils at the early stages of reading lack timely and effective support
• Too many pupils do not develop suitable reading fluency
• Pupils’ SEND needs are not always identified accurately
• Staff guidance for supporting pupils with SEND is not sufficiently clear
• Support for pupils with SEND is inconsistent
• Early years curriculum lacks sufficient detail in several areas
• Early years staff do not consistently tailor support to children’s starting points
• Some children, including those with SEND, lack high-quality support in language and communication and writing
• Misconceptions are not always identified and teaching is not consistently adapted to pupils’ individual starting points

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 Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery attended 91.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 28.1% 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, 4.6% of pupils at Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery had 20.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.2% 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, 23.0% of pupils at Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 10.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 4 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 Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery received £7,974 and spent £8,104 for each of its 471 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £270,000 (£573 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of Southend East Community Academy Trust, income was £7,652 and spending £7,512 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 Southend-On-Sea · Southend-on-Sea local authority: places and applications

Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery is part of Southend East Community Academy Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Shoeburyness High School Southend-On-Sea
• Richmond Avenue Primary and Nursery School Southend-On-Sea
• Bournes Green Infant School Southend-On-Sea
• Bournes Green Junior School Southend-On-Sea
• Hinguar Community Primary School Southend-On-Sea

What is Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery last inspected by Ofsted?

Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery have?

Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery has 421 pupils on roll.

What age range does Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery cover?

Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 37% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery?

Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery is at Delaware Road, Shoeburyness, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS3 9NP.