Merrylands Primary School
Cumberland Drive, Laindon, Basildon, SS15 6QS
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- BERLESDUNA ACADEMY TRUST
- Head of School
- Mrs Gemma Pryer
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Berlesduna Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Basildon and Billericay
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 630
- Pupils on roll
- 542
- URN
- 143205
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01268417893
About this school
Merrylands Primary School is a primary academy in Basildon. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 542 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
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
- 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 | 59 | 63 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 63% | 52% | 53% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 6% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 71% | 59% | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 75% | 60% | 62% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 73% | 60% | 72% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 101.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 100.0 | 101.0 |
| Reading progress | -3.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | 0.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.90 | - | - |
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 Merrylands 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 | 63% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 52% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 53% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 514 |
| 2023/24 | 556 |
| 2024/25 | 546 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Merrylands Primary School compares
Merrylands Primary School ranked 302nd of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 26% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 33% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 53% | 6.4% | 24.4% | 542 | — |
| Great Berry Primary School | 56% | 3.7% | 1.6% | 426 | 0.6 miles |
| The Phoenix Primary School | 54% | 4.7% | 29.4% | 717 | 0.7 miles |
| Lincewood Primary Academy | 49% | 5.2% | 14.8% | 390 | 0.7 miles |
| Millhouse Primary School | 57% | 7.4% | 36.1% | 611 | 0.8 miles |
| Janet Duke Primary School | 38% | 9.1% | 54.5% | 611 | 1.0 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)
- 24.42%
- English as an additional language
- 26.2%
- Overall absence
- 6.37%
- Persistent absence
- 18.95%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Great Berry Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Basildon
-
The Phoenix Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Basildon
-
Lincewood Primary Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Basildon
-
Millhouse Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Basildon
-
Janet Duke Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Basildon
Other schools in Basildon
Merrylands Primary School ranks 19th of the 27 ranked primary schools in Basildon.
- Bardfield Academy Primary
- 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
Common questions
- What year groups does Merrylands Primary School teach?
- Merrylands Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Basildon.
- Who is the head of school of Merrylands Primary School?
- The head of school of Merrylands Primary School is Mrs Gemma Pryer, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Merrylands Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Merrylands 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 big is Merrylands Primary School?
- Merrylands Primary School has 542 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Merrylands Primary School full?
- Merrylands Primary School has capacity for 630 pupils and 542 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 Merrylands Primary School a faith school?
- No. Merrylands Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Is Merrylands Primary School a selective school?
- No. Merrylands Primary School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does Merrylands Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Merrylands Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Merrylands Primary School?
- Merrylands Primary School is part of BERLESDUNA ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Merrylands Primary School have?
- The schools register lists Merrylands Primary School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Merrylands Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 63% in 2022/23 and 53% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Merrylands Primary School rank locally?
- Merrylands Primary School ranked 302nd of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 26% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 33% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Merrylands Primary School's absence rate?
- Merrylands Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Merrylands Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Merrylands 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 2 July 2026.