Bardfield Academy
Clay Hill Road, Vange, Basildon, SS16 4NL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- SOUTH ESSEX ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Miss Donna Dry
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- South Essex Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Basildon and Billericay
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 421
- URN
- 143203
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01268553488
About this school
Bardfield Academy is a primary academy in Basildon. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 421 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Bardfield Academy, 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
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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- 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 | 59 | 60 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 41% | 40% | 68% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 0% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 56% | 62% | 75% |
| Expected standard in maths | 58% | 55% | 75% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 56% | 47% | 73% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 103.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 99.0 | 101.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -4.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -5.50 | - | - |
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 Bardfield 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 | 41% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 40% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 68% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 467 |
| 2023/24 | 470 |
| 2024/25 | 455 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Bardfield Academy compares
Bardfield Academy ranked 168th of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 61% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 68% | 6.9% | 53.2% | 421 | — |
| Ryedene Primary and Nursery School | 76% | 6.5% | 48.4% | 461 | 0.3 miles |
| Greensted Primary School & Nursery | 72% | 5.3% | 35.1% | 520 | 0.5 miles |
| Cherry Tree Primary School | 38% | 9.2% | 43.2% | 384 | 0.5 miles |
| St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Basildon | 87% | 4.8% | 21.4% | 233 | 0.5 miles |
| Maple Grove Primary School | 50% | 4.9% | 39.3% | 295 | 0.6 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)
- 53.19%
- English as an additional language
- 13.4%
- Overall absence
- 6.87%
- Persistent absence
- 19.56%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ryedene Primary and Nursery School0.3 miles
Primary · Basildon
-
Greensted Primary School & Nursery0.5 miles
Primary · Basildon
-
Cherry Tree Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Basildon
-
St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Basildon0.5 miles
Primary · Basildon
-
Maple Grove Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Basildon
Other schools in Basildon
Bardfield Academy ranks 10th of the 27 ranked primary schools in Basildon.
- Briscoe Primary School & Nursery Primary
- Chapel Hill Primary School & Nursery Primary
- Cherry Tree Primary School Primary
- Eversley Primary School Primary
- Fairhouse Community Primary School Primary
- Felmore Primary School Primary
- Ghyllgrove Primary School Primary
- Great Berry Primary School Primary
- Greensted Primary School & Nursery Primary
- Janet Duke Primary School Primary
- Kingswood Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Laindon Park Primary School & Nursery Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Bardfield Academy teach?
- Bardfield Academy teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Basildon.
- Who is the headteacher of Bardfield Academy?
- The headteacher of Bardfield Academy is Miss Donna Dry, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Bardfield Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bardfield 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 many pupils are at Bardfield Academy?
- Bardfield Academy has 421 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Bardfield Academy full?
- Bardfield Academy has capacity for 420 pupils and 421 on roll (100%), 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 Bardfield Academy a faith school?
- No. Bardfield Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Bardfield Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Bardfield Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is Bardfield Academy part of an academy trust?
- Bardfield 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 Bardfield Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 41% in 2022/23 and 68% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Bardfield Academy compare with other schools in Essex?
- Bardfield Academy ranked 168th of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 61% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Bardfield Academy's absence rate?
- Bardfield Academy's overall absence rate is 6.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bardfield Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bardfield 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.