Winter Gardens Academy
Hilton Road, Canvey Island, SS8 9QA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- SOUTH ESSEX ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Miss Katie Herbert
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- South Essex Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Castle Point
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 480
- Pupils on roll
- 411
- URN
- 142000
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01268699305
About this school
Winter Gardens Academy is a primary academy in Canvey Island. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 411 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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
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
- Outstanding
- Early years
- 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 | 58 | 65 | 57 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 45% | 49% | 44% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 3% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 60% | 68% | 61% |
| Expected standard in maths | 62% | 58% | 51% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 48% | 60% | 51% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 101.0 | 101.0 |
| Reading progress | -4.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.50 | - | - |
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 Winter Gardens Academy 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 | 45% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 49% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 44% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 419 |
| 2023/24 | 434 |
| 2024/25 | 417 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Winter Gardens Academy compares
Winter Gardens Academy ranked 350th of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 15% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44% | 8.8% | 38.1% | 411 | — |
| St Katherine's Church of England Primary School | 56% | 5.5% | 10.4% | 213 | 0.0 miles |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School and Nursery | 74% | 4.4% | 18.6% | 200 | 0.6 miles |
| William Read Primary Academy | 53% | 6% | 33.8% | 189 | 0.7 miles |
| Northwick Park Primary and Nursery Academy | 75% | 5.9% | 39.7% | 644 | 0.8 miles |
| Canvey Island Infant School and Nursery | — | 4.5% | 20.5% | 216 | 0.9 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 38.12%
- English as an additional language
- 1.9%
- Overall absence
- 8.76%
- Persistent absence
- 28.61%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Katherine's Church of England Primary School0.0 miles
Primary · Canvey Island
-
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School and Nursery0.6 miles
Primary · Canvey Island
-
William Read Primary Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Canvey Island
-
Northwick Park Primary and Nursery Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Canvey Island
-
Canvey Island Infant School and Nursery0.9 miles
Primary · Canvey Island
Other schools in Canvey Island
Winter Gardens Academy ranks 8th of the 8 ranked primary schools in Canvey Island.
- Canvey Island Infant School and Nursery Primary
- Canvey Junior School Primary
- Leigh Beck Infant School and Nursery Academy Primary
- Leigh Beck Junior School Primary
- Lubbins Park Primary Academy Primary
- Northwick Park Primary and Nursery Academy Primary
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School and Nursery Primary
- St Katherine's Church of England Primary School Primary
- William Read Primary Academy Primary
- Castle View School Secondary
- The Cornelius Vermuyden School Secondary
- Athena School Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Winter Gardens Academy teach?
- Winter Gardens Academy teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Canvey Island.
- Who is the headteacher of Winter Gardens Academy?
- The headteacher of Winter Gardens Academy is Miss Katie Herbert, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Winter Gardens Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Winter Gardens Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Winter Gardens Academy?
- Winter Gardens Academy has 411 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Winter Gardens Academy full?
- Winter Gardens Academy has capacity for 480 pupils and 411 on roll (86%), 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 Winter Gardens Academy a faith school?
- No. Winter Gardens Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Winter Gardens Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Winter Gardens Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Winter Gardens Academy?
- Winter Gardens Academy is part of SOUTH ESSEX ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Winter Gardens Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 45% in 2022/23 and 44% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Winter Gardens Academy rank locally?
- Winter Gardens Academy ranked 350th of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 15% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Winter Gardens Academy's absence rate?
- Winter Gardens Academy's overall absence rate is 8.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Winter Gardens Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Winter Gardens Academy'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 2 July 2026.