SCHOOL PROFILE

Brightlingsea Primary School and Nursery

Primary Community school URN 114755
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 630 Published school capacity
Capacity used 103.7% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 2 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

28 February 2024
Latest published outcome Good
OEIF
Quality of education Good
Behaviour & attitudes Outstanding
Personal development Outstanding
Leadership & management Outstanding
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Community school
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Does not apply
Local authority Essex
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 653 558 full-time · 95 part-time
Female pupils 332 50.8% of pupils
Male pupils 321 49.2% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

18.2%
6.6 pts below England
School 18.2%
Tendring 32.9%
East of England 19.7%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

5.4%
14.9 pts below England
School 5.4%
Tendring 5.1%
East of England 16.4%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

1.2%
0.2 pts above England
School 1.2%
Tendring 0.9%
East of England 1.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
90.5%
591
Any other White background
4.6%
30
White and Black Caribbean
1.1%
7
White and Asian
0.8%
5
White and Black African
0.8%
5
Any other Mixed background
0.5%
3
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 17.0% 111 of 653 pupils
3.8 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 17.0%
Tendring 24.2%
East of England 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 15.5% 101 pupils
England 14.8% 0.7 pts above
EHC plans 1.5% 10 pupils
England 6.0% 4.5 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 33
Social, emotional & mental health 31
Moderate learning difficulty 14
Autistic spectrum disorder 7
No specialist assessment yet 7
Specific learning difficulty 6

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

69.0% 8.6 pts above England
School 69.0%
Tendring 53.3%
East of England 58.3%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

81.0%

7.2 pts above England

School 81.0%
Tendring 69.3%
East of England 72.9%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

75.0%

4.7 pts above England

School 75.0%
Tendring 65.0%
East of England 68.0%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

78.0%

6.0 pts above England

School 78.0%
Tendring 66.9%
East of England 70.3%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

5.77%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

0.44 pts lower than England
School 5.77%
Tendring 7.45%
East of England 6.17%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

14.17%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

1.64 pts lower than England
School 14.17%
Tendring 21.16%
East of England 15.39%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

1.20%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

0.61 pts lower than England
School 1.20%
Tendring 2.19%
East of England 1.83%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

103.7% 15.5 pts above England
Brightlingsea Primary School and Nursery
103.7%
Tendring
91.7%
East of England
87.4%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information