SCHOOL PROFILE

Thomas Willingale Primary School and Nursery

Primary Foundation school URN 115309
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 420 Published school capacity
Capacity used 115.7% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

26 April 2023
Latest published outcome School remains Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Foundation school
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character —
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 486 486 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 234 48.1% of pupils
Male pupils 252 51.9% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

30.7%
5.9 pts above England
School 30.7%
Epping Forest 16.4%
East of England 19.7%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

21.0%
0.7 pts above England
School 21.0%
Epping Forest 13.2%
East of England 16.4%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

1.6%
0.6 pts above England
School 1.6%
Epping Forest 0.7%
East of England 1.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
53.7%
261
Any other White background
22.4%
109
Any other Mixed background
4.9%
24
White and Black Caribbean
4.3%
21
White and Asian
2.9%
14
African
2.5%
12
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 25.1% 122 of 486 pupils
4.3 pts above England England: 20.8%
School 25.1%
Epping Forest 18.1%
East of England 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 22.6% 110 pupils
England 14.8% 7.8 pts above
EHC plans 2.5% 12 pupils
England 6.0% 3.6 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 36
Moderate learning difficulty 29
Social, emotional & mental health 29
Autistic spectrum disorder 14
Specific learning difficulty 6
Other difficulty or disability 3

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

75.0% 14.6 pts above England
School 75.0%
Epping Forest 58.7%
East of England 58.3%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

90.0%

16.2 pts above England

School 90.0%
Epping Forest 73.0%
East of England 72.9%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

85.0%

14.7 pts above England

School 85.0%
Epping Forest 67.9%
East of England 68.0%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

88.0%

16.0 pts above England

School 88.0%
Epping Forest 70.8%
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

4.99%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

1.23 pts lower than England
School 4.99%
Epping Forest 6.53%
East of England 6.17%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

11.50%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

4.32 pts lower than England
School 11.50%
Epping Forest 17.69%
East of England 15.39%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.00%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.80 pts lower than England
School 0.00%
Epping Forest 1.61%
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

115.7% 27.5 pts above England
Thomas Willingale Primary School and Nursery
115.7%
Epping Forest
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