Frinton-on-Sea Primary School

Frinton-on-Sea Primary School is a warm, inclusive school where pupils feel safe, valued and well supported. Inspectors found inclusion to be a particular strength, with leaders quickly identifying needs and making precise provision for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, including through 'the hive'. Safeguarding standards are met, behaviour is typically good, bullying is rare, and pupils benefit from an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum and a strong early years start. However, the school is not yet consistently strong across all areas. Published outcomes in 2025 were weak for a small group of Year 6 pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, and the impact of recent strategies is yet to be seen. Some teaching does not consistently address pupils' errors, and newer curriculum approaches vary in quality. Attendance is a concern for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, whose attendance is below national averages and persistent absence is high, although leaders are taking suitable action. Pupils' understanding of different faiths is variable, and the personal development programme needs to be embedded more securely. The school is part of Penrose Learning Trust and converted to academy status in September 2023. Leaders have a clear vision, are well supported by the trust, and have made changes to improve the curriculum, behaviour and attendance. Inspectors' main next steps are to embed newer teaching strategies consistently, reduce persistent absence for SEND and disadvantaged pupils, and ensure pupils have secure knowledge across the personal development programme.

Strengths

• Inclusion is at the heart of the school, with a warm and welcoming culture for all pupils.
• Leaders identify SEND and other needs swiftly and provide well-tailored support through flexible provision such as 'the hive'.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are fully included in school life and make sustained progress from their starting points.
• Additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is used effectively and has a positive impact on learning and personal development.
• Strong partnerships with external agencies and social care ensure support is tailored to pupils' needs.
• Pupils typically behave well, are focused in lessons and feel safe; bullying is rare.
• Staff have high expectations and follow individual behaviour plans well, including for pupils with SEND.
• The curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced across subjects and year groups, with clear end points.
• Reading, writing and mathematics are prioritised, and newer programmes are being implemented with increasing consistency.
• The early years provides a successful start, with strong relationships and good support for children with SEND.
• Leaders have a clear vision and have built a positive, supportive culture where staff feel valued.
• The trust provides effective support and challenge, and trustees fulfil statutory duties well.
• Personal development and wellbeing are central, with a broad range of trips, experiences and pastoral support.
• Pupils take on leadership roles as ambassadors, which builds confidence and prepares them for life beyond school.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture of safeguarding.

Areas for Improvement

• In 2025, a small number of Year 6 pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, achieved significantly less well in national tests.
• The impact of leaders' well-considered strategies to improve achievement is yet to be seen in published outcomes.
• Teachers do not always pick up on errors when pupils apply key skills and knowledge, so some pupils do not progress as well as they could.
• Attendance for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils is below national average, and persistent absence for these pupils is high.
• Some strategies to improve attendance are newer, so their long-term impact is not yet evident.
• Where curriculum and teaching changes are newer, there is variability in teaching quality, and some pupils learn less effectively than others.
• Some areas of the early years curriculum and teaching are newer and need greater consistency.
• Pupils' understanding of different faiths is variable.
• The impact of recent changes to curriculum, teaching, behaviour and attendance is yet to be seen over time.
• Newer teaching strategies are not yet consistently embedded so that pupils achieve better over time.
• Persistent absence, including for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, needs further reduction.
• Pupils' knowledge across the personal development programme is not secure and detailed enough to prepare them very well for life in modern Britain.
• Disadvantaged pupils' performance in reading, writing and mathematics in 2024/25 was significantly below national averages, with large gaps.

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 Frinton-on-Sea Primary School attended 94.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.2% 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, 3.8% of pupils at Frinton-on-Sea 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 Frinton-on-Sea Primary School had 24.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 30.9% 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, 14.7% of pupils at Frinton-on-Sea Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.8% 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 Frinton-on-Sea Primary School received £7,447 and spent £7,629 for each of its 209 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £153,000 (£733 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Penrose Learning Trust, income was £7,759 and spending £7,612 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 Tendring · Essex local authority: places and applications

Frinton-on-Sea Primary School is part of Penrose Learning Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Great Bentley Primary School Colchester
• Elmstead Primary School Colchester
• East Bergholt High School Colchester
• Colchester Academy Colchester
• Dale Hall Community Primary School Ipswich
• Hadleigh High School Ipswich
• Claydon High School Ipswich
• Claydon Primary School Ipswich

What is Frinton-on-Sea Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Frinton-on-Sea Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Frinton-on-Sea Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Frinton-on-Sea Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Frinton-on-Sea Primary School have?

Frinton-on-Sea Primary School has 211 pupils on roll.

What age range does Frinton-on-Sea Primary School cover?

Frinton-on-Sea Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Frinton-on-Sea Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 47% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Frinton-on-Sea Primary School?

Frinton-on-Sea Primary School is at Fifth Avenue, Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, CO13 9LQ.