The Downs Primary School and Nursery

The Downs Primary School and Nursery has improved since its previous inspection and is now judged good in every key area: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. Pupils are polite, respectful and feel safe and happy, staff know them well, and the school provides a broad, balanced curriculum with strong phonics and reading provision. Leadership across the school and trust is a notable strength, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The report highlights a coherent curriculum, good behaviour, meaningful pupil leadership roles, and a wide range of enrichment opportunities. Children in the Nursery get off to a good start, and the school has taken swift action to improve SEND provision, attendance systems and engagement with staff and parents. A significant number of pupils join mid-year, which the school says means 2024 national test outcomes did not accurately reflect the education provided. Two areas still need improvement. Individual plans for pupils with SEND do not always identify their needs precisely enough, so support is not consistently effective in lessons. In early years, staff expectations are occasionally not high enough, which can mean some children lose focus and learn less well than they could.

Strengths

• Pupils are polite and respectful and feel safe and happy at school.
• The curriculum is broad, balanced and coherently planned from early years to Year 6.
• High-quality, consistent phonics teaching helps pupils learn to read quickly.
• Teachers have secure subject knowledge and regularly revisit prior learning.
• Pupils behave well in lessons and during social times.
• Pupils have a deep understanding of the diverse world and take meaningful leadership roles.
• The school has taken swift action to improve SEND provision and has a clear vision for support.
• Children in the Nursery get off to a good start in calm, engaging indoor and outdoor areas.
• Attendance systems are robust and support families where attendance is a concern.
• The school offers strong wider opportunities, including trips, visits, assemblies and community events.
• School and trust leaders, governors and external advisers have driven rapid progress.
• Staff value the school's strong community and the support for well-being and workload.
• Parents and carers are positive about their children's experiences.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Individual plans for pupils with SEND do not precisely identify their needs, so support is not consistently effective in lessons.
• Staff expectations in early years are not consistently high enough, meaning some children occasionally lose focus and learn less well than they could.

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 The Downs Primary School and Nursery attended 94.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.0% 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, 1.7% of pupils at The Downs Primary School and Nursery were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 The Downs Primary School and Nursery had 21.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.1% 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, 18.5% of pupils at The Downs Primary School and Nursery were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.8% 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 The Downs Primary School and Nursery received £7,613 and spent £6,967 for each of its 394 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £43,000 (£109 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of The Passmores Co-Operative Learning Community, income was £7,390 and spending £7,091 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 Harlow · Essex local authority: places and applications

The Downs Primary School and Nursery is part of The Passmores Co-Operative Learning Community, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Purford Green Primary School Harlow
• Pear Tree Mead Academy Harlow
• Passmores Academy Harlow
• Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow Harlow
• Potter Street Academy Harlow

What is The Downs Primary School and Nursery's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Downs Primary School and Nursery is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was The Downs Primary School and Nursery last inspected by Ofsted?

The Downs Primary School and Nursery was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does The Downs Primary School and Nursery have?

The Downs Primary School and Nursery has 362 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Downs Primary School and Nursery cover?

The Downs Primary School and Nursery for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are The Downs Primary School and Nursery's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 52% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is The Downs Primary School and Nursery?

The Downs Primary School and Nursery is at The Hides, Harlow, Essex, CM20 3RB.