SCHOOL PROFILE

Water Lane Primary Academy

Primary Academy sponsor led URN 141194
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 210 Published school capacity
Capacity used 94.3% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 4 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

11 May 2023
Latest published outcome School remains Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy sponsor led
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Does not apply
Local authority Essex
Trust REACH2 ACADEMY TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 198 198 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 102 51.5% of pupils
Male pupils 96 48.5% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

32.3%
7.5 pts above England
School 32.3%
Harlow 25.3%
East of England 19.7%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

31.8%
11.5 pts above England
School 31.8%
Harlow 23.2%
East of England 16.4%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

2.5%
1.5 pts above England
School 2.5%
Harlow 2.3%
East of England 1.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
51.5%
102
Any other White background
21.7%
43
African
7.1%
14
White and Black Caribbean
3.5%
7
Any other ethnic group
3.0%
6
Bangladeshi
2.0%
4
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 19.7% 39 of 198 pupils
1.1 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 19.7%
Harlow 19.7%
East of England 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 16.2% 32 pupils
England 14.8% 1.4 pts above
EHC plans 3.5% 7 pupils
England 6.0% 2.5 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Social, emotional & mental health 15
Autistic spectrum disorder 10
Speech, language & communication 10
Moderate learning difficulty 2
Vision impairment 2

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

36.0% 24.4 pts below England
School 36.0%
Harlow 62.6%
East of England 58.3%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

60.0%

13.8 pts below England

School 60.0%
Harlow 76.2%
East of England 72.9%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

76.0%

5.7 pts above England

School 76.0%
Harlow 71.5%
East of England 68.0%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

48.0%

24.0 pts below England

School 48.0%
Harlow 73.5%
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

6.63%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

0.41 pts higher than England
School 6.63%
Harlow 6.66%
East of England 6.17%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

26.59%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

10.77 pts higher than England
School 26.59%
Harlow 17.47%
East of England 15.39%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

2.31%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

0.51 pts higher than England
School 2.31%
Harlow 1.88%
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

94.3% 6.1 pts above England
Water Lane Primary Academy
94.3%
Harlow
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