North Crescent Primary School

North Crescent Primary School has made commendable strides since its last inspection, achieving a 'Good' overall effectiveness rating. The school is particularly strong in personal development and early years provision, both receiving 'Outstanding' ratings. There is a clear commitment to providing a supportive environment where pupils feel safe and valued, encouraging contributions to their community and celebrating cultural diversity. Academic outcomes have improved, especially in reading, with a focus on ensuring that all pupils, including those with special educational needs, receive tailored support to facilitate their learning. However, there remain challenges related to the consistency of teaching practices and pupil attendance, which the school is actively working to address.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate strong personal development and contribute positively to the community.
• The school has improved its curriculum delivery, leading to better academic outcomes.
• There is a strong emphasis on reading, with effective phonics instruction.
• Pupils with SEND receive excellent support and learn well alongside their peers.
• Pupil behaviour is excellent, with rare disruptions to learning.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistencies in how teachers check understanding and address misconceptions.
• Some pupils still have legacy gaps in their knowledge.
• Too many pupils miss significant amounts of school time, impacting their learning.

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 North Crescent Primary School attended 91.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 24.4% 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, 3.1% of pupils at North Crescent 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 North Crescent Primary School had 25.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 48.1% 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, 14.4% of pupils at North Crescent Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.5% 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 North Crescent Primary School received £8,166 and spent £7,597 for each of its 183 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £205,000 (£1,124 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of Schools for Every Child, income was £6,983 and spending £6,652 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 Wickford · Essex local authority: places and applications

North Crescent Primary School is part of Schools for Every Child, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• Rayleigh Primary School Rayleigh
• Wyburns Primary School Rayleigh

What is North Crescent Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for North Crescent Primary School is Good, from an inspection in May 2024.

When was North Crescent Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

North Crescent Primary School was last inspected in May 2024.

How many pupils does North Crescent Primary School have?

North Crescent Primary School has 216 pupils on roll.

What age range does North Crescent Primary School cover?

North Crescent Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are North Crescent Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is North Crescent Primary School?

North Crescent Primary School is at North Crescent, Wickford, Essex, SS12 9AP.