Ofsted: Good emoji_events #289 in Essex public Top 80% UK

Howbridge Church of England Junior School

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

personMrs Lisa Dale

corporate_fareTHE DIOCESE OF CHELMSFORD VINE SCHOOLS TRUST

location_onWitham, CM8 1BZ

language Visit Website phone 1376501648

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2023

groups

Students

337

school

Expected Standard

51%

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Age Range

7-11

summarize

Howbridge Church of England Junior School is a Academy sponsor led primary school in Witham, serving ages 7-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Ranks in the top 80% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

Howbridge Church of England Junior School is an academy sponsor led in Witham, Essex, admitting pupils aged 7-11. It is part of THE DIOCESE OF CHELMSFORD VINE SCHOOLS TRUST. The school has approximately 357 pupils on roll, of whom 27% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 51% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 2% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #289 of 387 primaries in Essex and #10,704 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2023. The school's current overall rating is Good. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Good, behaviour and attitudes Good, personal development Good, and leadership and management Good.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 29.2:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there was 1 permanent exclusion. The average suspension rate was 5.9 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

51%

LA 61%

Reading72% LA 74%

Writing67% LA 70%

Maths64% LA 72%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

102

GPS SS

102

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

39%

LA 60%England 61%

Reading56% LA 73% · Eng 74%

Writing50% LA 70% · Eng 72%

Maths51% LA 71% · Eng 73%

Read SS

101

Maths SS

100

GPS SS

101

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

48%

LA 59%England 60%

Reading64% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing70% LA 71% · Eng 71%

Maths70% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

102

GPS SS

101

Progress (0 = national avg)

-2.9

Read

LA -0.1

-4.3 to -1.4

-1.8

Write

LA 0.0

-3.2 to -0.5

-3.3

Maths

LA -0.3

-4.7 to -2.0

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

54%

LA 64%England 65%

Reading63% LA 73% · Eng 73%

Writing79% LA 77% · Eng 78%

Maths73% LA 77% · Eng 79%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

106

Progress (0 = national avg)

-2.1

Read

LA -0.5

-3.3 to -0.8

0.8

Write

LA -0.2

-0.3 to 1.9

-2.4

Maths

LA -0.6

-3.5 to -1.3

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

57%

LA 63%

Reading73% LA 75%

Writing83% LA 77%

Maths60% LA 73%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

102

GPS SS

105

Progress (0 = national avg)

-0.8

Read

LA -0.3

-2.1 to 0.5

0.2

Write

LA -0.2

-1 to 1.4

-2.9

Maths

LA -0.6

-4 to -1.8

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

21 November 2023

Inspection Report

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08 June 2021

Inspection Report

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23 February 2021

Inspection Report

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10 December 2019

Inspection Report

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07 June 2017

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

4 Evaluations

2023-11-21

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 2 EIF

Good

Education

Good

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Good

2019-12-10

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 EIF

Requires improvement

Education

Requires improvement

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Requires improvement

2017-06-07

Academy First Section 5 Legacy

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

2012-11-15

None Legacy

Inadequate

Education

Inadequate

Behaviour

Development

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

4.5%per term

warning Above Average

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

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

2.5%(9 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 357 pupils. During this period, there were 16 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 4.5%, 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)	357	16	4.5%	0.8%	1
2024/25 (Autumn term)	357	26	7.3%	0.9%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	371	16	4.3%	0.8%	0
2023/24 (Spring term)	361	9	2.5%	0.7%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	361	19	5.3%	0.8%	0
2022/23 (Summer term)	342	8	2.3%	0.7%	0
2022/23 (Spring term)	337	1	0.3%	0.6%	1
2022/23 (Autumn term)	335	2	0.6%	0.6%	0
2021/22 (Summer term)	345	4	1.2%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	336	6	1.8%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	335	11	3.3%	0.5%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	347	10	2.9%	0.4%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	352	0	0.0%	0.1%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	352	4	1.1%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Summer term)	352	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	352	4	1.1%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	359	7	1.9%	0.6%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	379	2	0.5%	0.4%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	377	3	0.8%	0.5%	0
2018/19 (Autumn term)	376	1	0.3%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Summer term)	373	4	1.1%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Spring term)	373	5	1.3%	0.4%	0
2017/18 (Autumn term)	372	6	1.6%	0.5%	0
2016/17 (Summer term)	359	3	0.8%	0.4%	0
2016/17 (Spring term)	357	1	0.3%	0.4%	0
2016/17 (Autumn term)	358	6	1.7%	0.5%	1

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.

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 20 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 15 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 14 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 8 pupils

Hearing Impairment 1 pupils

Physical Disability 1 pupils