Richard de Clare Community Academy

Braintree · CO9 2JT

General information Primary School · 3-11 years Who goes here 370 pupils, 32.1% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 24.6% on SEN support Behaviour 6.9% absence rate Staff 23% turnover Financials £6,188 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Richard de Clare Community Academy

General Information

Address: Parsonage Street, Halstead, CO9 2JT – View on map
Phone: 01787472153
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Miss Lucinda Bellett
Age range: 3-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 42 families put it first for 50 places – 8 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 7 · 2024 6 · 2025 8 · 2026 8
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

370 pupils out of 466 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 112
% eligible for free school meals: 32.1%
Pupil mix: 4 in 10 (more mixed than the Braintree average)
English as an additional language: 12% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 23% a year (Braintree 16.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 64% moved to another school, 36% 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: 6.9%
Persistently absent pupils: 19.2%
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: 24.6%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.3%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 37 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 19 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 18 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 7 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 4 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 6 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 5 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
Hearing impairment: 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 June 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: 48% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 2% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 14 percentage points below the Braintree average (62%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 47% against an expected 60%)
3-year average (expected standard): 47%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 72% · Writing 63% · Maths 65% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 59%
Average test scores: reading 104, maths 102
Based on: 46 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 schoolBraintree averageEngland↘ Falling Down 7 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 14 percentage points below the Braintree average (62%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 37th of 45 junior and primary schools in the area

=37Elm Hall Primary School48%
=37Rayne Primary and Nursery School48%
=37Richard de Clare Community Academy48%
#40Stisted Church of England Primary Academy47%
=41Great Bardfield Primary School45%

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

#1Wethersfield CofE VC Primary School88%
=2Shalford Primary School87%
=2St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, Great Yeldham87%
#4Hatfield Peverel St Andrew's Junior School84%
#5St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree83%
#6St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, Halstead82%
#7Cressing Primary School79%
#8Ridgewell Church of England Primary School77%
=9Lyons Hall School73%
=9White Notley Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School73%
=11Feering Church of England Primary School72%
=11Kelvedon St Mary's Church of England Primary Academy72%
=11Witham Oaks Academy72%
#14Steeple Bumpstead Primary School71%
=15de Vere Primary School70%
=15Holy Family Catholic Primary School70%
#17St Peter's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Coggeshall68%
=18Chipping Hill Primary School67%
=18Rivenhall Church of England Primary School67%
=18St Giles' Church of England Primary School67%
#21Notley Green Primary School66%
#22White Court School64%
=23Bocking Primary School62%
=23John Ray Junior School62%
=25Beckers Green Primary School60%
=25Holy Trinity Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Halstead60%
=25St Andrew's Bulmer Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School60%
=28St Margaret's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Toppesfield57%
=28Terling Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School57%
#30Great Bradfords Junior School56%
=31John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery55%
=31St Peter's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Sible Hedingham55%
#33Earls Colne Primary School and Nursery54%
#34St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School52%
#35Howbridge Church of England Junior School51%
#36St John the Baptist Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Pebmarsh50%
=37Elm Hall Primary School48%
=37Rayne Primary and Nursery School48%
=37Richard de Clare Community Academy48%
#40Stisted Church of England Primary Academy47%
=41Great Bardfield Primary School45%
=41Silver End Academy45%
#43Templars Academy42%
#44Gosfield Community Primary School35%
#45Colne Engaine Church of England Primary School28%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,188 (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.

22nd of 40 primary schools in Braintree for spending per pupil

#20Rivenhall Church of England Primary School£6,374
#21Earls Colne Primary School and Nursery£6,292
#22Richard de Clare Community Academy£6,188
#23St Peter's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Sible Hedingham£6,123
#24Feering Church of England Primary School£6,088

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

#1Belchamp St Paul Church of England Primary School£13,394
#2Finchingfield St John the Baptist CofE Primary Academy£10,376
#3St Giles' Church of England Primary School£9,842
#4St Margaret's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Toppesfield£9,307
#5Ridgewell Church of England Primary School£8,930
#6Shalford Primary School£8,093
#7St John the Baptist Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Pebmarsh£8,039
#8Colne Engaine Church of England Primary School£7,810
#9White Notley Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School£7,490
#10Great Bardfield Primary School£7,209
#11Terling Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£7,180
#12Lyons Hall School£7,043
#13Stisted Church of England Primary Academy£7,039
#14St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, Great Yeldham£6,911
#15Beckers Green Primary School£6,890
#16Holy Family Catholic Primary School£6,717
#17White Court School£6,648
#18Holy Trinity Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Halstead£6,566
#19John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery£6,432
#20Rivenhall Church of England Primary School£6,374
#21Earls Colne Primary School and Nursery£6,292
#22Richard de Clare Community Academy£6,188
#23St Peter's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Sible Hedingham£6,123
#24Feering Church of England Primary School£6,088
#25Chipping Hill Primary School£6,048
#26Elm Hall Primary School£6,042
#27Silver End Academy£6,011
#28Kelvedon St Mary's Church of England Primary Academy£5,933
#29Steeple Bumpstead Primary School£5,918
#30St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£5,895
#31St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree£5,773
#32Templars Academy£5,729
#33de Vere Primary School£5,603
#34St Peter's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Coggeshall£5,566
#35Notley Green Primary School£5,529
#36Rayne Primary and Nursery School£5,512
#37Gosfield Community Primary School£5,394
#38Bocking Primary School£5,367
#39Cressing Primary School£5,321
#40St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, Halstead£5,318

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

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