Acorn Infant Academy

Braintree · CM8 1NA

General information Infant School · 3-7 years Who goes here 196 pupils, 24.1% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN Resourced provision · 27% on SEN support Behaviour 5.9% absence rate Staff 6.5% turnover Financials £7,968 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

We haven't asked this school for its behaviour and staffing figures yet. Sign up to tell us you'd like them, and we'll email you when they arrive.

Notify me

Your email address

Leave this empty

We'll email you a link to confirm first. Your address is only used for news about this school, and every email has a link to stop them. Privacy

Acorn Infant Academy

General Information

Address: Spa Road, Witham, CM8 1NA – View on map
Phone: 01376512605
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Cheryl Noble
Age range: 3-7 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 41 families put it first for 68 places – 6 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 1 of the 68 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 10 · 2025 7 · 2026 6
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

196 pupils out of 270 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 45
% eligible for free school meals: 24.1%
Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (similar to the Braintree average)
English as an additional language: 5% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 6.5% a year (Braintree 16.1%, typical in England 13.9%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 0% moved to another school, 100% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Essex: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 28 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 17 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 7 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Essex (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 5.9%
Persistently absent pupils: 16.9%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

Resourced provision for Speech, language and communication 12 places · 15 pupils at the last count

Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.

Pupils on SEN Support: 27.0%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.6%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 25 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 15 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 5 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 5 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

Be the first to review — win £100 of books for your school Every honest review enters you into our prize draw

Behaviour

–

Openness

–

Teaching Quality

–

School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

–

SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

–

Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

–

Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2023 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

View full Ofsted inspection report

1st of 5 infant schools in Braintree for Ofsted rating

#1Acorn Infant AcademyGood
#2Great Bradfords Infant and Nursery SchoolGood
#3Hatfield Peverel Infant and Nursery SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Acorn Infant AcademyGood
#2Great Bradfords Infant and Nursery SchoolGood
#3Hatfield Peverel Infant and Nursery SchoolGood
#4Howbridge Infant SchoolGood
#5John Ray Infant SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,968 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

1st of 5 infant schools in Braintree for spending per pupil

#1Acorn Infant Academy£7,968
#2John Ray Infant School£7,494
#3Great Bradfords Infant and Nursery School£6,570

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Acorn Infant Academy£7,968
#2John Ray Infant School£7,494
#3Great Bradfords Infant and Nursery School£6,570
#4Howbridge Infant School£6,045
#5Hatfield Peverel Infant and Nursery School£5,834

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

Have you rated Acorn Infant Academy yet? Your experience helps other parents.

Rate this school