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Holy Family Catholic Primary School

Primary Ages 5-11 201 pupils Witham
Ofsted: Good
All schools in Witham

Holy Family Catholic Primary School is an academy converter in Witham for pupils aged 5 to 11. It has a Roman Catholic religious character. It has 201 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for Holy Family Catholic Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2022. In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. Attendance is among the best for primary schools in England, with 2.9% of sessions missed in 2024/25 compared with 5.2% nationally.

Ofsted inspection: November 2022. KS2 results: 2025.

Type Primary / Academy converter
Age Range 5-11
Religion Roman Catholic
Address Maltings Lane
Witham
Essex
CM8 1DX
Phone 01376513418
Reference Number 148111

General Makeup

Number of pupils 201
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 43.78%
Girls: 56.22%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 17.5%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 5.5%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 28.6
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 27.5
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 29.3

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 12 13 25
2 15 15 30
3 7 21 28
4 13 18 31
5 11 18 29
6 18 12 30

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 65.2%
White, Other 8%
African 7.5%
Mixed, Other 6%
White & Asian 3.5%
Indian 3%
Irish 2%
White & Black (African) 1.5%
White & Black (Caribbean) 1%
Chinese 1%

Holy Family Catholic Primary School demonstrates overall good performance across various aspects of education, including the quality of education, behavior, personal development, leadership, and early years provision. The pupils are engaged, happy, and well-prepared for the next stages of their education. The school's nurturing environment fosters positivity and encourages students to be responsible citizens. Every pupil benefits from a broad and rich curriculum that supports their academic growth, with a strong emphasis on personal development and communication skills.

Overall Ofsted Rating Good
 >  Quality of education Good
  >  Behaviour & Attitude Good
  >  Personal Development Good
  >  Leadership & Management Good
  >  Early Years Provision Good
Last Report Date 28 Sep 2022
Date Report
28 Sep 2022 School inspection:
04 Sep 2020 Academy conversion letter
24 Jan 2019 Short inspection
Previously as Holy Family Catholic Primary School, Witham
18 Mar 2015 Full inspection:
28 Feb 2012 Full inspection:
02 Dec 2008 Full inspection:
23 May 2005 Full inspection

Strengths

  • Pupils enjoy a broad and rich curriculum.
  • The school has a nurturing ethos that parents value.
  • Students are well-prepared for their next educational stages.
  • Leaders have developed an ambitious curriculum.
  • High expectations from staff lead to good pupil behavior and attitudes.
  • Effective support for pupils with SEND.
  • Strong prioritization of reading across the school.

Areas for Improvement

  • Reading support for some key stage 2 pupils is not effectively matched to their phonics knowledge.

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 70%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 9%

Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Subject School Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 107
Maths 103

Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 7.8
Writing 5.1
Maths 3

How many students meet the standards

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Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

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Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

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Reception admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 30 6
Third Preference 31 5
From another Local Authority 0 0

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 Holy Family Catholic Primary School had 200 pupils for 210 places. 10 places (4.8%) were unfilled.

Pupils and places

Reception intake in the “Braintree Primary H: South (Witham)” planning area

Essex counted 383 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 456 in 2029–30, up 19%.

20212022202320242025
Places 210210210210210
Pupils 204205205202200
Unfilled 2.9%2.4%2.4%3.8%4.8%

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 Holy Family Catholic Primary School attended 97.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 1.7% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

20212022202320242025
Authorised absence 2.6%3.0%3.9%3.6%2.7%
Unauthorised absence 0.1%0.2%0.4%0.6%0.2%
Severely absent pupils 0.6%0.0%0.0%0.6%0.6%

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, 0.0% of pupils at Holy Family Catholic Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

20212022202320242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 0.00.00.00.00.0
Permanent exclusions 00000

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 Holy Family Catholic Primary School had 21.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

202120222023202420252026
Pupils per adult 13.812.413.212.812.613.1
Teachers who left state teaching 0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%20.0%–
Teachers who took any sick leave –41.7%8.3%33.3%23.1%–
Sick days per teacher –2.30.10.80.9–

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, 12.9% of pupils at Holy Family Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Specific learning difficulty 9 0
Social, emotional and mental health 8 0
Autistic spectrum disorder 2 4
Speech, language and communication needs 5 0
Physical disability 2 0
Moderate learning difficulty 0 1

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 Holy Family Catholic Primary School received £7,074 and spent £7,099 for each of its 198 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £84,000 (£424 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of The Rosary Trust - A Catholic Multi Academy, income was £7,679 and spending £7,558 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

2021202320242025
Revenue reserve £147,000£92,000£91,000£84,000
per pupil £710£447£450£424
In-year balance £36,000-£38,000-£1,000-£5,000
per pupil £174-£184-£5-£25

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.

Name Distance
Howbridge Church of England Junior School
Howbridge Road, Witham, Essex, CM8 1BZ
0.1 miles
Howbridge Infant School
Dengie Close, Witham, Essex, CM8 1DJ
0.1 miles
Chipping Hill Primary School
Owers Road, Witham, Essex, CM8 1FR
0.33 miles
Witham Oaks Academy
Spa Road, Witham, Essex, CM8 1NA
1.09 miles
Acorn Infant Academy
Spa Road, Witham, Essex, CM8 1NA
1.09 miles
Templars Academy
Cressing Road, Witham, Essex, CM8 2NJ
1.59 miles
Hatfield Peverel Infant and Nursery School
Church Road, Hatfield Peverel, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 2RP
1.82 miles
Hatfield Peverel St Andrew's Junior School
Church Road, Hatfield Peverel, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 2JX
1.82 miles
Elm Hall Primary School
Conrad Road, Witham, Essex, CM8 2SD
1.91 miles
Great Totham Primary School
Walden House Road, Great Totham, Maldon, Essex, CM9 8PN
2.41 miles
Rivenhall Church of England Primary School
Church Road, Rivenhall, Witham, Essex, CM8 3PQ
2.7 miles
Terling Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
New Road, Terling, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 2PN
2.99 miles
White Notley Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School
Vicarage Avenue, White Notley, Witham, Essex, CM8 1RZ
3.46 miles
Silver End Academy
School Road, Silver End, Witham, Essex, CM8 3RZ
3.69 miles
Woodham Walter Church of England Primary Academy
The Street, Woodham Walter, Maldon, Essex, CM9 6RF
4.02 miles
Heybridge Primary School
Rowan Drive, Heybridge, Maldon, Essex, CM9 4TU
4.28 miles
St Francis Catholic Primary School, Maldon
London Road, Maldon, Essex, CM9 6HN
4.31 miles
Kelvedon St Mary's Church of England Primary Academy
Docwra Road, Kelvedon, Colchester, Essex, CO5 9DS
4.38 miles
Maldon Court Preparatory School
Silver Street, Maldon, CM9 4QE
4.41 miles
Boreham Primary School
Juniper Road, Boreham, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 3DB
4.42 miles
Name Distance
Lift Maltings
Spinks Lane, Witham, Essex, CM8 1EP
0.41 miles
Woodend Farm School
Woodend Farm, Hatfield Road, Witham, Essex, CM8 1EH
0.96 miles
Lift New Rickstones
Conrad Road, Witham, Essex, CM8 2SD
1.91 miles
Southview School
Conrad Road, Witham, Essex, CM8 2TA
1.93 miles
Chatten Free School
Rickstones Road, Rivenhall, Essex, CM8 3HH
2.24 miles
Plume School
Fambridge Road, Maldon, Essex, CM9 6AB
4.63 miles

All schools in Witham · Essex local authority: places and applications

Holy Family Catholic Primary School is part of The Rosary Trust - A Catholic Multi Academy, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

What is Holy Family Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Holy Family Catholic Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2022.

When was Holy Family Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Holy Family Catholic Primary School was last inspected in November 2022.

How many pupils does Holy Family Catholic Primary School have?

Holy Family Catholic Primary School has 201 pupils on roll.

What age range does Holy Family Catholic Primary School cover?

Holy Family Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are Holy Family Catholic Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Holy Family Catholic Primary School?

Holy Family Catholic Primary School is at Maltings Lane, Witham, Essex, CM8 1DX.

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