Highwood Primary School
Loves Green, Highwood, Chelmsford, CM1 3QH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Marie Staley
- Constituency
- North West Essex
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 70
- Pupils on roll
- 66
- URN
- 114869
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01245248200
About this school
Highwood Primary School is a community primary school in Chelmsford. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 66 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Highwood Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 8 | 5 | 8 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 75% | - | 25% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | - | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 75% | - | 63% |
| Expected standard in maths | 75% | - | 50% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 75% | - | 38% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | - | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | - | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.10 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Highwood Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Essex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 75% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | — | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 25% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 57 |
| 2023/24 | 53 |
| 2024/25 | 56 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Highwood Primary School compares
Highwood Primary School ranked 384th of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 6% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 25% | 9% | 26.8% | 66 | — |
| Margaretting Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 80% | 6.6% | 29% | 70 | 2.2 miles |
| Writtle Infant School | — | — | — | 178 | 2.4 miles |
| Writtle Junior School | — | — | — | 238 | 2.4 miles |
| Ingatestone Infant School | — | 4.6% | 4.4% | 127 | 2.5 miles |
| Ingatestone and Fryerning Church of England Junior School | 71% | 5.1% | 11.5% | 189 | 2.7 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
- 22 November 2022
-
Ungraded inspection report10 June 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 26.79%
- English as an additional language
- 1.8%
- Overall absence
- 8.97%
- Persistent absence
- 30.51%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Margaretting Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School2.2 miles
Primary · Ingatestone
-
Writtle Infant School2.4 miles
Primary · Chelmsford
-
Writtle Junior School2.4 miles
Primary · Chelmsford
-
Ingatestone Infant School2.5 miles
Primary · Ingatestone
-
Ingatestone and Fryerning Church of England Junior School2.7 miles
Primary · Ingatestone
Other schools in Chelmsford
Highwood Primary School ranks 46th of the 46 ranked primary schools in Chelmsford.
- Baddow Hall Infant School Primary
- Baddow Hall Junior School Primary
- Barnes Farm Primary School Primary
- Beehive Lane Community Primary School Primary
- Boreham Primary School Primary
- Broomfield Primary School Primary
- Chancellor Park Primary School, Chelmsford Primary
- Christchurch Church of England Primary School Primary
- Cold Norton Primary School Primary
- Collingwood Primary School Primary
- East Hanningfield Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Elmwood Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Highwood Primary School teach?
- Highwood Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Chelmsford.
- Who is the headteacher of Highwood Primary School?
- The headteacher of Highwood Primary School is Mrs Marie Staley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Highwood Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Highwood Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Highwood Primary School?
- Highwood Primary School has 66 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Highwood Primary School full?
- Highwood Primary School has capacity for 70 pupils and 66 on roll (94%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Highwood Primary School a faith school?
- No. Highwood Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Highwood Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Highwood Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Highwood Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 75% in 2022/23 and 25% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Highwood Primary School compare with other schools in Essex?
- Highwood Primary School ranked 384th of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 6% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Highwood Primary School's absence rate?
- Highwood Primary School's overall absence rate is 9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Highwood Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Highwood Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.