Ofsted: Good trending_up Places Available emoji_events #254 in Essex public Top 46% UK

Downham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMr Courtney Freese John Poulson

location_onBillericay, CM11 1NU

language Visit Website phone 1268710387

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2016

groups

Students

219

school

Expected Standard

65%

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

0.9x

summarize

Downham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is a Voluntary controlled school primary school in Billericay, serving ages 5-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Ranks in the top 46% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

Downham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is a voluntary controlled school in Billericay, Essex, admitting pupils aged 5-11. The school has approximately 191 pupils on roll, of whom 8% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 65% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 23% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #254 of 408 primaries in Essex and #9,370 of 15,231 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2016. The school's current overall rating is Good.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 0.9× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 18.7:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there was 1 permanent exclusion. The average suspension rate was 2.4 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

65%

LA 61%

Reading73% LA 74%

Writing85% LA 70%

Maths69% LA 72%

Read SS

107

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

106

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

70%

LA 60%England 61%

Reading83% LA 73% · Eng 74%

Writing83% LA 70% · Eng 72%

Maths93% LA 71% · Eng 73%

Read SS

106

Maths SS

106

GPS SS

107

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

60%

LA 59%England 60%

Reading80% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing65% LA 71% · Eng 71%

Maths83% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Read SS

106

Maths SS

106

GPS SS

107

Progress (0 = national avg)

0.7

Read

LA -0.1

-1.3 to 2.7

-4.0

Write

LA 0.0

-5.9 to -2.1

1.0

Maths

LA -0.3

-0.9 to 2.9

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

71%

LA 64%England 65%

Reading77% LA 73% · Eng 73%

Writing77% LA 77% · Eng 78%

Maths91% LA 77% · Eng 79%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

108

GPS SS

108

Progress (0 = national avg)

-1.7

Read

LA -0.5

-3.8 to 0.4

-0.4

Write

LA -0.2

-2.3 to 1.6

1.8

Maths

LA -0.6

-0.1 to 3.6

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

69%

LA 63%

Reading81% LA 75%

Writing75% LA 77%

Maths84% LA 73%

Read SS

106

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

108

Progress (0 = national avg)

-0.5

Read

LA -0.3

-2.6 to 1.6

-2

Write

LA -0.2

-4.1 to 0.1

-0.5

Maths

LA -0.6

-2.4 to 1.4

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

28 September 2021

Inspection Report

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28 June 2016

Inspection Report

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02 June 2014

Inspection Report

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22 January 2014

Inspection Report

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28 June 2012

Inspection Report

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07 January 2011

Inspection Report

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06 May 2008

Inspection Report

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02 February 2004

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

2 Evaluations

2016-06-28

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2014-01-22

None Legacy

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

2.6%per term

warning Above Average

National average: 0.8% for this term (primary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

1.6%(3 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

1pupils

gavel Exclusion recorded

National average: 1.225% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 191 pupils. During this period, there were 5 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 2.6%, which is above the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	191	5	2.6%	0.8%	1
2024/25 (Autumn term)	189	4	2.1%	0.9%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	195	4	2.1%	0.8%	0
2023/24 (Spring term)	194	2	1.0%	0.7%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	192	1	0.5%	0.8%	0
2022/23 (Summer term)	214	0	0.0%	0.7%	0
2022/23 (Spring term)	219	0	0.0%	0.6%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	218	0	0.0%	0.6%	0
2021/22 (Summer term)	219	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	217	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	210	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	216	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	216	0	0.0%	0.1%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	217	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Summer term)	226	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	226	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	227	0	0.0%	0.6%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	227	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	226	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2018/19 (Autumn term)	227	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Summer term)	233	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Spring term)	230	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2017/18 (Autumn term)	228	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2016/17 (Summer term)	234	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2016/17 (Spring term)	234	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2016/17 (Autumn term)	234	0	0.0%	0.5%	0

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Speech, Language & Communication 9 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 3 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 3 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 2 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 2 pupils

Physical Disability 1 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 1 pupils

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Downham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

School Summary

Academic Performance

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Faith Priority (Church of England)

Distance to School

School Capacity

Primary Admission Trends

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Funding & Staffing

School Funding Allocation

Funding Breakdown

Staffing

Teacher Turnover

Top Primary Schools in Essex

Kingston Primary School

Lift Westerings

Quilters Junior School

Lee Chapel Primary School

Hereward Primary School

Perryfields Junior School