Ofsted: Good trending_up Places Available

Acorn Academy

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

personMrs Cheryl Noble

corporate_fareBRIDGE ACADEMY TRUST

location_onWitham, CM8 1NA

language Visit Website phone 1376512605

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2024

groups

Students

265

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

1.0x

summarize

Acorn Academy is a Academy converter primary school in Witham, serving ages 3-7. Rated Good by Ofsted.

article

School Summary

Acorn Academy is an academy converter in Witham, Essex, admitting pupils aged 3-7. It is part of BRIDGE ACADEMY TRUST. The school has approximately 224 pupils on roll, of whom 34% are eligible for free school meals.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2024. 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.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 1.0× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 16.0:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. 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

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

17 December 2024

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

14 November 2023

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

04 July 2019

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

Inspection Report

Inspection History

3 Evaluations

2024-12-17

S5 Inspection EIF

Not Judged

info

Why no overall grade?

From autumn 2024, Ofsted stopped issuing a single headline grade (Outstanding / Good / RI / Inadequate). Instead, each inspection area is graded individually. This follows a major review after the death of headteacher Ruth Perry in 2023. The overall effectiveness field is left as "Not judged" in the published data.

Education

Good

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Good

2014-01-14

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 EIF

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2012-09-19

None EIF

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

gavel

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

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

Suspension Rate

0.9%per term

warning Above Average

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

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

0.9%(2 pupils)

Spring term 2025

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

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 1.225% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 224 pupils. During this period, there were 2 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 0.9%, 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
2024/25 (Spring term)	224	2	0.9%	0.8%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	225	9	4.0%	0.9%
2023/24 (Summer term)	266	5	1.9%	0.8%
2023/24 (Spring term)	272	2	0.7%	0.7%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	262	2	0.8%	0.8%
2022/23 (Summer term)	264	4	1.5%	0.7%
2022/23 (Spring term)	265	2	0.8%	0.6%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	261	1	0.4%	0.6%
2021/22 (Summer term)	272	0	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Spring term)	268	0	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	270	8	3.0%	0.5%
2020/21 (Summer term)	258	7	2.7%	0.4%
2020/21 (Spring term)	256	0	0.0%	0.1%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	252	1	0.4%	0.4%
2019/20 (Summer term)	256	0	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	256	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	259	0	0.0%	0.6%

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

accessibility_new

psychology_alt

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 23 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 18 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 14 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 7 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 4 pupils

Profound & Multiple Learning 2 pupils

Severe Learning Difficulty 1 pupils

Hearing Impairment 1 pupils

health_and_safety

Parent View on Pastoral Care

Results from the official Ofsted Parent View survey, reflecting direct parent sentiment regarding the school environment.

My child is happy at this school.

97.0%Positive

My child feels safe at this school.

96.0%Positive

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

0.0%Positive

View All Survey Responseskeyboard_arrow_down

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

strongly agree42%

agree48%

disagree6%

don't know3%

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

strongly agree61%

agree35%

strongly disagree3%

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

strongly agree29%

agree19%

disagree6%

not applicable45%

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

yes32%

no68%

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

strongly agree60%

agree30%

strongly disagree10%

The school has high expectations for my child.

strongly agree55%

agree32%

disagree6%

don't know6%

My child does well at this school.

strongly agree84%

agree10%

disagree6%

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

strongly agree74%

agree23%

disagree3%

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

strongly agree71%

agree26%

disagree3%

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

strongly agree77%

agree23%

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

strongly agree68%

agree23%

disagree6%

strongly disagree3%

I would recommend this school to another parent.

yes94%

no6%

Top Primary Schools in Essex

Other highly-ranked schools in the same local authority

View all arrow_forward

Kingston Primary School

Outstanding

location_on Thundersley, SS7 3HG

emoji_events #1 in LA

Lift Westerings

Good

location_on Hockley, SS5 4NZ

emoji_events #2 in LA

Quilters Junior School

Outstanding

location_on Billericay, CM12 9LD

emoji_events #3 in LA

Lee Chapel Primary School

Outstanding

location_on Basildon, SS16 5RU

emoji_events #4 in LA

Hereward Primary School

Outstanding

location_on Loughton, IG10 2HR

emoji_events #5 in LA

Perryfields Junior School

Outstanding

location_on Chelmsford, CM1 7PP

emoji_events #6 in LA

View all schools in Essex arrow_forward

School Summary

Academic Performance

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

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)

Parent View on Pastoral Care

My child is happy at this school.

My child feels safe at this school.

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

The school has high expectations for my child.

My child does well at this school.

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

I would recommend this school to another parent.

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