SCHOOL PROFILE

St James Church of England Primary School

Primary Academy sponsor led URN 141657
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 218 Published school capacity
Capacity used 96.8% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 5 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

11 October 2023
Latest published outcome School remains Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy sponsor led
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Church of England
Local authority Essex
Trust THE DIOCESE OF CHELMSFORD VINE SCHOOLS TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 211 211 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 99 46.9% of pupils
Male pupils 112 53.1% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

23.7%
1.1 pts below England
School 23.7%
Harlow 25.3%
East of England 19.7%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

26.5%
6.2 pts above England
School 26.5%
Harlow 23.2%
East of England 16.4%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

2.8%
1.8 pts above England
School 2.8%
Harlow 2.3%
East of England 1.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
44.1%
93
African
20.4%
43
Any other White background
12.3%
26
Any other Mixed background
7.6%
16
Indian
3.3%
7
White and Black Caribbean
2.8%
6
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 20.9% 44 of 211 pupils
0.0 pts above England England: 20.8%
School 20.9%
Harlow 19.7%
East of England 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 16.6% 35 pupils
England 14.8% 1.8 pts above
EHC plans 4.3% 9 pupils
England 6.0% 1.8 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 11
Social, emotional & mental health 10
Autistic spectrum disorder 7
Moderate learning difficulty 7
No specialist assessment yet 6
Physical disability 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

53.0% 7.4 pts below England
School 53.0%
Harlow 62.6%
East of England 58.3%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

63.0%

10.8 pts below England

School 63.0%
Harlow 76.2%
East of England 72.9%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

66.0%

4.3 pts below England

School 66.0%
Harlow 71.5%
East of England 68.0%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

66.0%

6.0 pts below England

School 66.0%
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

5.29%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

0.93 pts lower than England
School 5.29%
Harlow 6.66%
East of England 6.17%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

12.82%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

3.00 pts lower than England
School 12.82%
Harlow 17.47%
East of England 15.39%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

2.05%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

0.25 pts higher than England
School 2.05%
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

96.8% 8.6 pts above England
St James Church of England Primary School
96.8%
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