Merrylands Primary School

Basildon · SS15 6QS

General information Primary School · 2-11 years Who goes here 542 pupils, 23.3% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted and results

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN Resourced provision · 6.5% on SEN support Behaviour 6.4% absence rate Staff 16.7% turnover Financials £7,009 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Merrylands Primary School

General Information

Address: Cumberland Drive, Laindon, Basildon, SS15 6QS – View on map
Phone: 01268417893
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Gemma Pryer
Age range: 2-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 54 families put it first for 57 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 7 · 2025 8 · 2026 9
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

542 pupils out of 630 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 125
% eligible for free school meals: 23.3%
Pupil mix: 6 in 10 (more mixed than the Basildon average)
English as an additional language: 23% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 16.7% a year (Basildon 13.9%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 65% moved to another school, 35% 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.

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: 6.4%
Persistently absent pupils: 19.0%
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 Autism 8 places · 9 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: 6.5%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 6.3%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 23 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 8 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Multi-sensory impairment: 1 pupil
Hearing impairment: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 26 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
Multi-sensory impairment: 1 pupil
Hearing impairment: 1 pupil
Moderate learning difficulty: 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

No overall grade given 2025 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted stopped giving single overall grades for a period between September 2024 and November 2025 - this school's most recent inspection falls in that window, so there's no single rating to show, even though it was inspected. The full report (linked below) still has the detail.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 53% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 3% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 11 percentage points below the Basildon average (64%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (3-year average 56% against an expected 67%)
3-year average (expected standard): 56%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 73% · Writing 72% · Maths 62% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 72%
Average test scores: reading 104, maths 101
Based on: 60 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 schoolBasildon averageEngland↘ Falling Down 10 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 11 percentage points below the Basildon average (64%).

Year 6 SATs: 29th of 40 junior and primary schools in the area

#27Great Berry Primary School56%
#28The Phoenix Primary School54%
#29Merrylands Primary School53%
=30Laindon Park Primary School & Nursery52%
=30Wickford Primary School52%

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 Peter's Catholic Primary School96%
#2St Anne Line Catholic Junior School89%
#3St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Basildon87%
=4Lee Chapel Primary School85%
=4Quilters Junior School85%
=6Briscoe Primary School & Nursery80%
=6Noak Bridge Primary School80%
#8Buttsbury Primary School79%
=9Brightside Primary School76%
=9Ryedene Primary and Nursery School76%
=9The Willows Primary School76%
#12Greensted Primary School & Nursery72%
=13Fairhouse Community Primary School69%
=13Sunnymede Primary School69%
=15Bardfield Academy68%
=15North Crescent Primary School68%
=17Hilltop Junior School67%
=17Kingswood Primary School and Nursery67%
#19Abacus Primary School66%
#20Northlands Primary School and Nursery64%
#21Oakfield Primary School63%
#22Eversley Primary School62%
#23Felmore Primary School60%
#24Grange Primary School59%
=25Millhouse Primary School57%
=25Whitmore Primary School and Nursery57%
#27Great Berry Primary School56%
#28The Phoenix Primary School54%
#29Merrylands Primary School53%
=30Laindon Park Primary School & Nursery52%
=30Wickford Primary School52%
#32Maple Grove Primary School50%
=33Ghyllgrove Primary School49%
=33Lincewood Primary Academy49%
=35South Green Junior School46%
=35Vange Primary School and Nursery46%
=37Cherry Tree Primary School38%
=37Janet Duke Primary School38%
#39St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford32%
#40Crays Hill Primary School17%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,009 (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.

11th of 37 primary schools in Basildon for spending per pupil

#9North Crescent Primary School£7,216
#10Ghyllgrove Primary School£7,208
#11Merrylands Primary School£7,009
#12Felmore Primary School£6,971
#13Bardfield Academy£6,903

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

#1Crays Hill Primary School£14,587
#2St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Basildon£8,306
#3Briscoe Primary School & Nursery£8,154
#4St Margaret's Church of England Academy, Bowers Gifford£8,016
#5Vange Primary School and Nursery£7,668
#6Janet Duke Primary School£7,370
#7Cherry Tree Primary School£7,353
#8Millhouse Primary School£7,344
#9North Crescent Primary School£7,216
#10Ghyllgrove Primary School£7,208
#11Merrylands Primary School£7,009
#12Felmore Primary School£6,971
#13Bardfield Academy£6,903
#14Laindon Park Primary School & Nursery£6,831
#15Fairhouse Community Primary School£6,827
#16Whitmore Primary School and Nursery£6,720
#17Lincewood Primary Academy£6,716
#18Maple Grove Primary School£6,696
#19The Willows Primary School£6,513
#20Eversley Primary School£6,446
#21Abacus Primary School£6,417
#22Northlands Primary School and Nursery£6,362
#23Ryedene Primary and Nursery School£6,308
#24Noak Bridge Primary School£6,227
#25Great Berry Primary School£6,160
#26Brightside Primary School£6,140
#27The Phoenix Primary School£6,096
#28Grange Primary School£6,070
#29Lee Chapel Primary School£5,920
#30Kingswood Primary School and Nursery£5,883
#31Sunnymede Primary School£5,873
#32Greensted Primary School & Nursery£5,869
#33Wickford Primary School£5,833
#34Oakfield Primary School£5,796
#35St Peter's Catholic Primary School£5,777
#36Chapel Hill Primary School & Nursery£5,602
#37Buttsbury Primary School£5,454

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

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