Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Uttlesford · CM23 5QL

General information Primary School · 4-11 years Who goes here 93 pupils, 10.8% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 6.5% on SEN support Behaviour 4.3% absence rate Staff 22.7% turnover Financials £8,341 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

General Information

Address: Birchwood, Birchanger, Bishop's Stortford, CM23 5QL – View on map
Phone: 01279812362
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Sharon Vessey
Age range: 4-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 10 families put it first for 10 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 2 of the 10 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 9 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

93 pupils out of 117 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 10
% eligible for free school meals: 10.8%
Pupil mix: 3 in 10 (more mixed than the Uttlesford average)
English as an additional language: 13% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 22.7% a year (Uttlesford 13.5%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 40% moved to another school, 60% 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. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.

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: 4.3%
Persistently absent pupils: 6.6%
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

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 6.5%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.2%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 2 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
Autistic spectrum disorder: 1 pupil
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Speech, language and communications needs: 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 –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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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.

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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.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Ofsted report card April 2026

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard
Early years Expected standard
Leadership and governance Expected standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2022). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 64% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 5 percentage points below the Uttlesford average (69%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 53% against an expected 74%)
3-year average (expected standard): 53%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 91% · Writing 82% · Maths 73% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 73%
Average test scores: reading 104, maths 104
Based on: 11 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolUttlesford averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 5 percentage points below the Uttlesford average (69%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 23rd of 33 junior and primary schools in the area

#21Felsted Primary School67%
#22St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School65%
=23Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School64%
=23Thaxted Primary School64%
#25Stebbing Primary School62%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, Saffron Walden94%
#2Great Chesterford Church of England Primary Academy88%
#3Great Dunmow Primary School87%
#4Clavering Primary School86%
#5R A Butler Junior School82%
#6Manuden Primary School80%
#7Katherine Semar Junior School79%
=8Debden Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary Academy78%
=8Elsenham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School78%
=10Great Sampford Community Primary School75%
=10Rickling Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School75%
=10St Mary's CofE Foundation Primary School75%
=13Hatfield Heath Primary School74%
=13Takeley Primary School74%
#15Chrishall Holy Trinity and St Nicholas CofE (Aided) Primary School and Pre-School73%
=16Bentfield Primary School and Nursery71%
=16Roseacres Primary School71%
=18Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School70%
=18Little Hallingbury Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School70%
#20Magna Carta Primary Academy69%
#21Felsted Primary School67%
#22St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School65%
=23Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School64%
=23Thaxted Primary School64%
#25Stebbing Primary School62%
#26Dunmow St Mary's Primary School58%
#27St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Hatfield Broad Oak56%
#28Radwinter Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School54%
#29Great Easton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School41%
#30The Flitch Green Academy38%
#31Rodings Primary School22%
#32Ashdon Primary School20%
#33Newport Primary School16%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £8,341 (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.

7th of 33 primary schools in Uttlesford for spending per pupil

#5Bentfield Primary School and Nursery£10,428
#6Great Easton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£8,684
#7Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School£8,341
#8Rickling Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£8,067
#9Great Sampford Community Primary School£7,745

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

#1Wimbish Primary Academy£17,367
#2Farnham Church of England Primary School£15,360
#3St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Hatfield Broad Oak£12,755
#4Ashdon Primary School£10,481
#5Bentfield Primary School and Nursery£10,428
#6Great Easton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£8,684
#7Birchanger Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School£8,341
#8Rickling Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£8,067
#9Great Sampford Community Primary School£7,745
#10Radwinter Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£7,354
#11Stebbing Primary School£7,328
#12Chrishall Holy Trinity and St Nicholas CofE (Aided) Primary School and Pre-School£7,303
#13Newport Primary School£7,138
#14St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, Saffron Walden£7,067
#15The Flitch Green Academy£6,974
#16Manuden Primary School£6,652
#17Clavering Primary School£6,535
#18Henham and Ugley Primary and Nursery School£6,483
#19St Mary's CofE Foundation Primary School£6,430
#20Thaxted Primary School£6,360
#21Debden Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary Academy£6,310
#22Felsted Primary School£6,275
#23Rodings Primary School£6,166
#24Great Chesterford Church of England Primary Academy£6,097
#25Great Dunmow Primary School£6,068
#26Dunmow St Mary's Primary School£5,973
#27Elsenham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School£5,918
#28Little Hallingbury Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£5,918
#29St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£5,866
#30Roseacres Primary School£5,739
#31Magna Carta Primary Academy£5,687
#32Hatfield Heath Primary School£5,558
#33Takeley Primary School£5,315

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

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