St James the Great Church of England Primary School

St James' Church of England Primary School is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating in all inspected areas including quality of education, behavior and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. The school, which has not been previously inspected, has created a conducive learning environment where pupils enjoy their learning and show enthusiasm for school activities. There are notable strengths in the support provided for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and a strong emphasis on personal well-being and safety.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy coming to school and find learning interesting and fun.
• Leaders provide a strong curriculum that balances both academic and personal development.
• Staff are well trained in teaching phonics, helping pupils to become confident readers.
• Pupils with SEND make good progress with appropriate support.
• There are strong, respectful relationships between pupils and adults.

Areas for Improvement

• Some curriculum leaders lack opportunities to monitor the implementation and impact of the curriculum.
• Support for pupils with SEND sometimes does not equip them with the strategies needed for independent work.

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 James the Great Church of England Primary School attended 94.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.7% 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, 1.3% of pupils at St James the Great Church of England 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 St James the Great Church of England Primary School had 26.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.0% 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, 20.8% of pupils at St James the Great Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.4% 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 James the Great Church of England Primary School received £6,656 and spent £6,680 for each of its 449 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £145,000 (£324 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 Colchester · Essex local authority: places and applications

St James the Great Church of England Primary School is part of The Diocese of Chelmsford Vine Schools Trust, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• Weeley St Andrew's CofE Primary School Clacton-On-Sea
• St Osyth Church of England Primary School Clacton-On-Sea
• Colne Engaine Church of England Primary School
• Rolph Church of England Primary School and Nursery Clacton-On-Sea
• St Cedd's Church of England Primary School Southminster
• Rivenhall Church of England Primary School Witham
• Great Clacton Church of England Junior School Clacton-On-Sea
• St Nicholas Church of England Primary School, Tillingham Southminster
• Howbridge Church of England Junior School Witham
• St Leonard's Church of England Primary School Southminster

What is St James the Great Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St James the Great Church of England Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was St James the Great Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St James the Great Church of England Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does St James the Great Church of England Primary School have?

St James the Great Church of England Primary School has 438 pupils on roll.

What age range does St James the Great Church of England Primary School cover?

St James the Great Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are St James the Great Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 48% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St James the Great Church of England Primary School?

St James the Great Church of England Primary School is at Guildford Road, Colchester, Essex, CO1 2RA.