St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford

St Margaret’s Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford is a warm and friendly primary school where pupils, including those in Nursery, are happy and feel safe. Inspectors found the school performing well across the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. The school has been through a turbulent period of staffing and leadership change, but this has now stabilised, and leaders and the Diocese of Chelmsford Vine Schools Trust have worked rapidly to improve provision. The headteacher was appointed in September 2024, and this was the first routine inspection since the pandemic. Pupils benefit from a well-balanced and sequenced curriculum, with reading prioritised across the school. Phonics teaching in the early years is strong, pupils who fall behind are identified quickly, and older pupils read confidently across subjects. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported, attendance is positive, and pupils behave calmly and respectfully around the school. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. There are still areas to improve. In some subjects, staff do not have the subject knowledge needed to adapt the curriculum well, which can leave gaps in pupils’ learning. Expectations for positive attitudes to learning are not always applied consistently, and low-level behaviour is not always corrected quickly enough, causing some distraction. Parent communication is improving but remains a continuing focus, and pupils in some year groups would welcome more opportunities to take on responsibility.

Strengths

• Warm and friendly school where pupils are happy and feel safe from Nursery onwards
• Clear and sequenced curriculum that builds pupils’ knowledge over time
• Reading is prioritised, with high-quality phonics and strong support for pupils who fall behind
• Staff are skilled at supporting pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities
• Pupils with SEND are supported across all areas of school life so they can achieve well
• Attendance is positive, with effective support for pupils who find punctuality challenging
• Pupils behave calmly and respectfully around the school and have a strong understanding of values such as respect
• A wide range of trips, visits and experiences helps pupils learn about the wider world
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Staff feel well supported and leaders have high expectations for pupils’ achievement

Areas for Improvement

• Some staff lack the subject knowledge needed to adapt the curriculum effectively, leading to gaps in some pupils’ learning
• High expectations for behaviour and positive attitudes to learning are not consistently reinforced by all staff
• Low-level behaviour is not always corrected quickly enough, which can distract pupils from their work
• Communication with parents about their child’s education is still being developed
• Pupils in year groups other than Year 6 would welcome more opportunities to take on responsibility

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 St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford attended 92.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 24.1% 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, 2.6% of pupils at St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford 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 St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford had 21.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 30.3% 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, 22.0% of pupils at St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.2% 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 St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford received £7,827 and spent £8,625 for each of its 184 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £14,000 (£74 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of The Diocese of Chelmsford Vine Schools Trust, income was £7,530 and spending £7,249 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 Basildon · Essex local authority: places and applications

St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford is part of The Diocese of Chelmsford Vine Schools Trust, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• Bulphan Church of England Academy Bulphan
• Orsett Church of England Primary School Grays
• Christchurch Church of England Primary School Chelmsford
• St Leonard's Church of England Primary School Southminster
• Howbridge Church of England Junior School Witham
• St Nicholas Church of England Primary School, Tillingham Southminster
• Rivenhall Church of England Primary School Witham
• St Cedd's Church of England Primary School Southminster
• William Martin Church of England Infant and Nursery School Harlow
• St James Church of England Primary School Harlow

What is St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford is Good, from an inspection in October 2024.

When was St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford last inspected by Ofsted?

St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford was last inspected in October 2024.

How many pupils does St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford have?

St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford has 182 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford cover?

St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 32% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford?

St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford is at London Road, Bowers Gifford, Basildon, Essex, SS13 2DU.