Ridgewell Church of England Primary School
Church Lane, Ridgewell, Halstead, CO9 4SA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- THE DIOCESE OF CHELMSFORD VINE SCHOOLS TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Kirsty Stuart
- Diocese
- Diocese of Chelmsford
- Sponsor
- Diocese of Chelmsford
- Constituency
- Braintree
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 105
- Pupils on roll
- 55
- URN
- 144645
- Local authority
- Essex
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01440785364
About this school
Ridgewell Church of England Primary School is a Church of England primary academy in Halstead. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 55 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 no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Early years
- Needs attention
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 13 | 12 | 13 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 54% | 25% | 77% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 15% | 8% | 15% |
| Expected standard in reading | 85% | 50% | 85% |
| Expected standard in maths | 92% | 50% | 85% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 69% | 42% | 85% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 103.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 102.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +5.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +5.40 | - | - |
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 Ridgewell Church of England 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 | 54% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 25% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 77% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 61 |
| 2023/24 | 61 |
| 2024/25 | 57 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ridgewell Church of England Primary School compares
Ridgewell Church of England Primary School ranked 71st of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 82% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 77% | 5.9% | 33.3% | 55 | — |
| St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, Great Yeldham | 87% | 4.4% | 20% | 139 | 1.8 miles |
| St Margaret's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Toppesfield | 57% | 6.6% | 12.1% | 63 | 2.1 miles |
| Clare Community Primary School | 50% | 5.8% | 17.4% | 199 | 3.4 miles |
| Belchamp St Paul Church of England Primary School | — | 4.9% | 6.1% | 46 | 3.4 miles |
| Steeple Bumpstead Primary School | 71% | 6% | 10.3% | 189 | 3.8 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
-
Graded inspection report24 February 2026
- 11 January 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 33.33%
- English as an additional language
- 0%
- Overall absence
- 5.88%
- Persistent absence
- 16.67%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, Great Yeldham1.8 miles
Primary · Halstead
- 2.1 miles
-
Clare Community Primary School3.4 miles
Primary · Sudbury
-
Belchamp St Paul Church of England Primary School3.4 miles
Primary · Sudbury
-
Steeple Bumpstead Primary School3.8 miles
Primary · Haverhill
Other schools in Halstead
Ridgewell Church of England Primary School ranks 3rd of the 11 ranked primary schools in Halstead.
- de Vere Primary School Primary
- Gosfield Community Primary School Primary
- Holy Trinity Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Halstead Primary
- Richard de Clare Community Academy Primary
- St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, Great Yeldham Primary
- St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, Halstead Primary
- St Giles' Church of England Primary School Primary
- St John the Baptist Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Pebmarsh Primary
- St Margaret's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Toppesfield Primary
- St Peter's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Sible Hedingham Primary
- Hedingham School and Sixth Form Secondary
- The Ramsey Academy, Halstead Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Ridgewell Church of England Primary School teach?
- Ridgewell Church of England Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Halstead.
- Who is the headteacher of Ridgewell Church of England Primary School?
- The headteacher of Ridgewell Church of England Primary School is Mrs Kirsty Stuart, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Ridgewell Church of England Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ridgewell Church of England 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 Ridgewell Church of England Primary School?
- Ridgewell Church of England Primary School has 55 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Ridgewell Church of England Primary School full?
- Ridgewell Church of England Primary School has capacity for 105 pupils and 55 on roll (52%), 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 Ridgewell Church of England Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. Ridgewell Church of England Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Chelmsford.
- Does Ridgewell Church of England Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Ridgewell Church of England Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Ridgewell Church of England Primary School?
- Ridgewell Church of England Primary School is part of THE DIOCESE OF CHELMSFORD VINE SCHOOLS TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Ridgewell Church of England Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 54% in 2022/23 and 77% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ridgewell Church of England Primary School rank locally?
- Ridgewell Church of England Primary School ranked 71st of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 82% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 41% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Ridgewell Church of England Primary School's absence rate?
- Ridgewell Church of England Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ridgewell Church of England Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ridgewell Church of England 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 10 July 2026.