Silver End Academy

Silver End Academy is a larger-than-average primary school in the INSPIRES MAT, with an above-average proportion of pupils receiving SEN support. Inspectors found the school meeting the expected standard across all evaluated areas, including achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Safeguarding standards are met. New leadership has made significant changes since the previous inspection, and 2025 national test results show notable improvement, although historic underperformance means some outcomes remain below national averages. The school's main strengths are its ambitious, well-supported curriculum; highly skilled staff; strong early years provision; embedded phonics; impressive pupil behaviour and attendance; and robust inclusion and pastoral care. Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are well supported, and relationships between staff and pupils are excellent. Leaders have invested heavily in training, governance is effective, and parents and staff are very positive about the school. The key areas for further work are to embed the curriculum fully so pupils build on prior learning and achieve well in national tests, and to develop teaching further so more pupils reach the highest standards, including greater depth. Outcomes in combined reading, writing and mathematics, and especially writing, remain below national averages, and disadvantaged pupils' attainment and the disadvantage gap remain concerns.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive safeguarding culture.
• New leadership has a clear, ambitious vision and has quickly improved curriculum and teaching.
• High-quality, ongoing staff training has created highly skilled teachers and support staff.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are well supported to access the curriculum and make secure progress.
• Early years provision gives children a highly effective start, especially in communication, language and phonics.
• The phonics scheme is well embedded, and pupils read at age-expected standards.
• Pupils' behaviour is consistently impressive, lessons are calm and purposeful, and bullying is extremely rare.
• Attendance is in line with national peers, including for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
• Inclusion and pastoral support are robust, with precise identification and effective wellbeing interventions.
• Personal development is broad, with strong enrichment, clubs, trips and community involvement.
• Governance and trust oversight are effective, providing appropriate challenge and support.
• Parents and staff are very positive about leadership, communication and support.
• Relationships between staff and pupils are excellent, and pupils feel safe, happy and included.

Areas for Improvement

• National test outcomes have historically been below expected standards, including the proportion reaching greater depth.
• Combined reading, writing and mathematics outcomes remain below national averages despite recent improvement.
• Writing outcomes are a particular weakness, remaining well below national averages.
• Disadvantaged pupils' attainment is below national averages and the disadvantage gap is wide, especially in writing.
• The curriculum needs to be fully embedded so pupils build on prior learning and achieve well in national tests and examinations.
• Teaching needs further development to help more pupils attain the highest standards, including greater depth.

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 Silver End Academy attended 94.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.3% 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, 1.1% of pupils at Silver End 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 Silver End Academy had 23.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.8% 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, 11.3% of pupils at Silver End Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.2% 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 Silver End Academy received £5,787 and spent £6,073 for each of its 370 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £356,000 (£963 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of Inspires Mat, income was £6,646 and spending £6,280 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 Witham · Essex local authority: places and applications

Silver End Academy is part of Inspires Mat, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• Templars Academy Witham
• Witham Oaks Academy Witham
• Kings Ford Academy Colchester
• Cherry Tree Academy Colchester

What is Silver End Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Silver End Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Silver End Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Silver End Academy was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Silver End Academy have?

Silver End Academy has 344 pupils on roll.

What age range does Silver End Academy cover?

Silver End Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Silver End Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 45% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Silver End Academy?

Silver End Academy is at School Road, Silver End, Witham, Essex, CM8 3RZ.