Thriftwood School
Slades Lane, Galleywood, Chelmsford, CM2 8RW
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special converter
- Ages
- 5 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- SEAX TRUST
- Headteacher
- Georgina Pryke
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- SEAX Trust
- SEN provision
- MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Maldon
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 266
- Pupils on roll
- 279
- URN
- 137554
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01245266880
About this school
Thriftwood School is a special academy in Chelmsford. It teaches children aged 5 to 19 and has 279 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Thriftwood School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- 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 | 12 | 16 | 14 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
| Reading progress | -11.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -10.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -11.60 | - | - |
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.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 29 | 34 | 32 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Thriftwood 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 | 0% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 260 |
| 2023/24 | 251 |
| 2024/25 | 266 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 50%
- English as an additional language
- 1.9%
- Overall absence
- 8.87%
- Persistent absence
- 28.3%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Widford Lodge School1.3 miles
Independent schools · Chelmsford
-
St Cedd's School1.8 miles
Independent schools · Chelmsford
-
Octavia House Schools, Essex1.8 miles
Special schools
-
St Anne's School1.8 miles
Independent schools · Chelmsford
-
Community College Initiative Ltd1.9 miles
Other types · Chelmsford
Other schools in Chelmsford
- Clarity Independent School Special schools
- Community College Initiative Ltd Other types
- Lift Columbus Academies
- The Hawthorns School Free Schools
- The Sir Geoff Hurst Academy Free Schools
- Tanglewood Nursery School Nursery
- Woodcroft Nursery School Nursery
- 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
Common questions
- What ages does Thriftwood School teach?
- Thriftwood School teaches children aged 5 to 19. It is a special school in Chelmsford.
- Who is the headteacher of Thriftwood School?
- The headteacher of Thriftwood School is Georgina Pryke, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Thriftwood School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Thriftwood 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 Thriftwood School?
- Thriftwood School has 279 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 19.
- Is Thriftwood School full?
- Thriftwood School has capacity for 266 pupils and 279 on roll (105%), so it is at or above 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 Thriftwood School a faith school?
- No. Thriftwood School has no designated religious character.
- Is Thriftwood School part of an academy trust?
- Thriftwood School is part of SEAX TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Thriftwood School have?
- The schools register lists Thriftwood School's special educational needs provision as: MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Thriftwood School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Thriftwood School's absence rate?
- Thriftwood School's overall absence rate is 8.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Thriftwood School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Thriftwood 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 1 July 2026.