de Vere Primary School

De Vere Primary School is performing well overall, demonstrating a good quality of education and outstanding early years provision. The school has shown significant improvement since its last inspection, with leaders effectively raising ambitions for all students, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils engage positively with their learning, showing strong respect for their peers, and take pride in initiatives such as sustainability projects and their newly designed library. The school's focus on students' mental health and character development further enhances their educational experience.

Strengths

• Outstanding early years provision that supports rapid communication skill development.
• Pupils demonstrate a strong commitment to sustainability and community involvement.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND and those learning English as an additional language.
• Well-managed behaviour and a calm, purposeful learning environment.
• Strong emphasis on reading, with skilled staff ensuring pupils engage with reading at their level.
• Comprehensive character education that promotes positive mental health and respect for diversity.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent delivery of writing instruction leads to variability in writing quality across classes.
• Need for clearer expectations on writing practices and opportunities to write at length.

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 de Vere Primary School attended 94.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.9% 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, 0.0% of pupils at de Vere 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 de Vere Primary School had 24.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.6% 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, 14.8% of pupils at de Vere Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.4% 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 de Vere Primary School received £6,368 and spent £6,403 for each of its 194 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £91,000 (£468 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Attain Academy Partnership, income was £6,470 and spending £6,381 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 Halstead · Essex local authority: places and applications

de Vere Primary School is part of Attain Academy Partnership, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Gosfield Community Primary School Halstead
• Bocking Primary School Braintree
• Rayne Primary and Nursery School Braintree
• Cressing Primary School Braintree
• Elm Hall Primary School Witham
• Newlands Spring Primary and Nursery School Chelmsford

What is de Vere Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for de Vere Primary School is Good, from an inspection in September 2023.

When was de Vere Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

de Vere Primary School was last inspected in September 2023.

How many pupils does de Vere Primary School have?

de Vere Primary School has 203 pupils on roll.

What age range does de Vere Primary School cover?

de Vere Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are de Vere Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

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

Where is de Vere Primary School?

de Vere Primary School is at Kirby Hall Road, Castle Hedingham, Halstead, Essex, CO9 3EA.