Monkwick Junior School

Monkwick Junior School has shown significant improvement since its last inspection, now rated as good across all areas of performance. The school fosters a positive and happy environment where pupils feel safe and are excited to learn. The strong relationships amongst staff and students, alongside effective bullying management, contribute to a supportive school culture. Pupils, including those with special educational needs, achieve well and are prepared for their future education through a carefully structured curriculum.

Strengths

• Pupils have positive attitudes towards learning.
• Bullying is rare and dealt with promptly.
• Teachers provide interesting lessons that inspire pupils.
• The curriculum is well organized with high expectations for all pupils.
• A love of reading is promoted effectively.
• Strong and inclusive school culture is evident.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistencies in teachers' pedagogy can affect learning outcomes.
• New leaders of foundation subjects are still developing their training capabilities.

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 Monkwick Junior School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.7% 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, 3.7% of pupils at Monkwick Junior School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 2 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 Monkwick Junior School had 19.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.3% 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, 20.5% of pupils at Monkwick Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.0% 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 Monkwick Junior School received £7,589 and spent £7,247 for each of its 241 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £88,000 (£365 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of The Sigma Trust, income was £8,335 and spending £8,168 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

Monkwick Junior School is part of The Sigma Trust, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• Monkwick Infant and Nursery School Colchester
• The Thomas Lord Audley School Colchester
• Paxman Academy Colchester
• Philip Morant School and College Colchester
• St Helena School Colchester
• The Stanway School Colchester
• Colne Community School Colchester
• Alton Park Junior School Clacton-On-Sea
• Clacton County High School Clacton-On-Sea
• Holland Park Primary School Clacton-On-Sea

What is Monkwick Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Monkwick Junior School is Good, from an inspection in September 2022.

When was Monkwick Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Monkwick Junior School was last inspected in September 2022.

How many pupils does Monkwick Junior School have?

Monkwick Junior School has 234 pupils on roll.

What age range does Monkwick Junior School cover?

Monkwick Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Monkwick Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 54% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Monkwick Junior School?

Monkwick Junior School is at School Road, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8NN.