The Cathedral Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Chelmsford

Chelmsford · CM1 1PA

General information Primary School · 4-11 years Who goes here 314 pupils, 7.3% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 9.9% on SEN support Behaviour 3.9% absence rate Staff 21.3% turnover Financials £6,237 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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The Cathedral Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Chelmsford

General Information

Address: Victoria Road, Chelmsford, CM1 1PA – View on map
Phone: 01245354459
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Gemma Smith
Age range: 4-11 years
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

314 pupils out of 315 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 23
% eligible for free school meals: 7.3%
Pupil mix: 7 in 10 (more mixed than the Chelmsford average)
English as an additional language: 21% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 21.3% a year (Chelmsford 14.6%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 22% moved to another school, 78% 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: 3.9%
Persistently absent pupils: 7.2%
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: 9.9%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.6%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 12 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 8 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 6 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 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 March 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 Strong standard
Attendance and behaviour Strong standard
Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard
Early years Expected standard
Leadership and governance Expected standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2021). 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: 74% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 4% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 8 percentage points above the Chelmsford average (66%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 71% against an expected 70%)
3-year average (expected standard): 71%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 94% · Writing 74% · Maths 94% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 94%
Average test scores: reading 110, maths 109
Based on: 47 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 schoolChelmsford averageEngland↗ Improving Up 6 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 8 percentage points above the Chelmsford average (66%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 13th of 44 junior and primary schools in the area

#12Meadgate Primary School75%
=13Maltese Road Primary School74%
=13The Cathedral Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Chelmsford74%
=15Baddow Hall Junior School73%
=15St Pius X Catholic Primary School73%

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

#1Perryfields Junior School91%
#2Chancellor Park Primary School, Chelmsford87%
#3Roxwell Church of England Primary School82%
=4Margaretting Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School80%
=4The Bishops' Church of England and Roman Catholic Primary School80%
=4The Tyrrells School80%
=7St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior School78%
=7The Beaulieu Park School78%
=9Beehive Lane Community Primary School77%
=9St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, SWF77%
=9Westlands Community Primary School77%
#12Meadgate Primary School75%
=13Maltese Road Primary School74%
=13The Cathedral Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Chelmsford74%
=15Baddow Hall Junior School73%
=15St Pius X Catholic Primary School73%
=17Danbury Park Community Primary School71%
=17St John Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Danbury71%
=19Little Waltham Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School70%
=19Stock Church of England Primary School70%
=21Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Primary School69%
=21St Mary's Church of England Primary School69%
=23Moulsham Junior School67%
=23Woodville Primary School67%
#25Parkwood Academy66%
#26Boreham Primary School65%
#27Ford End Church of England Primary School64%
=28Collingwood Primary School63%
=28Priory Primary School, Bicknacre63%
#30Lawford Mead Primary & Nursery61%
#31Newlands Spring Primary and Nursery School60%
#32Kings Road Primary School58%
#33Mildmay Primary School57%
#34Trinity Road Primary School56%
#35Elmwood Primary School55%
#36Great Waltham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School54%
#37Runwell Community Primary School53%
=38Great Leighs Primary School52%
=38Springfield Primary School52%
#40Barnes Farm Primary School50%
#41Broomfield Primary School49%
#42Larkrise Primary School41%
#43Trinity St Mary's CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School, South Woodham Ferrers31%
#44Highwood Primary School25%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,237 (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.

26th of 43 primary schools in Chelmsford for spending per pupil

#24St Luke's Park Primary School£6,313
#25St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, SWF£6,273
#26The Cathedral Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Chelmsford£6,237
#27Mildmay Primary School£6,194
#28Little Waltham Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£6,068

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

#1St Mary's Church of England Primary School£11,532
#2Highwood Primary School£9,806
#3Margaretting Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School£9,188
#4Ford End Church of England Primary School£8,563
#5Larkrise Primary School£7,387
#6Parkwood Academy£7,351
#7Springfield Primary School£7,116
#8Kings Road Primary School£6,829
#9Beehive Lane Community Primary School£6,767
#10Chancellor Park Primary School, Chelmsford£6,739
#11Roxwell Church of England Primary School£6,706
#12The Bishops' Church of England and Roman Catholic Primary School£6,704
#13Lawford Mead Primary & Nursery£6,692
#14St John Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Danbury£6,682
#15Priory Primary School, Bicknacre£6,610
#16Great Leighs Primary School£6,534
#17Collingwood Primary School£6,471
#18St Pius X Catholic Primary School£6,430
#19Trinity Road Primary School£6,400
#20Boreham Primary School£6,400
#21Great Waltham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School£6,387
#22Trinity St Mary's CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School, South Woodham Ferrers£6,384
#23Westlands Community Primary School£6,348
#24St Luke's Park Primary School£6,313
#25St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, SWF£6,273
#26The Cathedral Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Chelmsford£6,237
#27Mildmay Primary School£6,194
#28Little Waltham Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School£6,068
#29Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Primary School£6,042
#30Danbury Park Community Primary School£5,968
#31Stock Church of England Primary School£5,894
#32Elmwood Primary School£5,856
#33Meadgate Primary School£5,791
#34Broomfield Primary School£5,675
#35Newlands Spring Primary and Nursery School£5,648
#36Barnes Farm Primary School£5,503
#37The Tyrrells School£5,492
#38Maltese Road Primary School£5,469
#39Woodville Primary School£4,182
#40St Peter's Church of England Primary Academy, West Hanningfield£3,865
#41Runwell Community Primary School£3,522
#42East Hanningfield Church of England Primary Academy£3,246
#43Rettendon Primary School£2,060

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

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