Holy Family Catholic Primary School

Academy converter·Primary school Witham, Essex·CM8 1DX
Composite score
56.0
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#5,159
National rank
#533
In East of England
#153
In Essex
Top 35%
Nationally

Performance (KS2 SATs)

% meeting expected RWM
70%
% achieving higher RWM
9%
Reading average scaled score
107.0
National avg ≈ 105
Maths average scaled score
103.0
National avg ≈ 104
Reading progress
—
Maths progress
—

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes
Early years provision
Good

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
90%
21 first choices, 30 places
First choices per place
0.70
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
94
any preference, for 30 places
Last place offered lived
1.54 mi
straight line, 2025 intake · 2485 m
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.23
00.511.5
1 per place
1.2720220.7920230.8720240.9320250.702026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

The cut-off distance is how far the last child offered a place lived, not a catchment boundary: it moves every year with the number of applicants. Published by the council in its 2025 allocation figures, and checked against that document before we show it.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
5–11
Pupils on roll
198
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
23.7%
Typical primary: 21.5%
% EAL
7.6%
Typical primary: 9.6%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
13.1%
Typical primary: 14.3%
% with an EHC plan
2.0%
Typical primary: 3.0%

Attendance

Overall absence
4.2%
Typical primary: 5.3%
Persistently absent
4.5%
Typical primary: 13.3%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
21.8
Typical primary: 20.7
Spend per pupil
£6,717
Typical primary: £6,960

“Typical” = the median primary school in England. What this means

Nearby primary schools

Location

School overview

Holy Family Catholic Primary School is a primary school serving Witham, Essex, classified by the DfE as a converter academy with a Roman Catholic religious character. It has 198 pupils aged 5 to 11 on roll. At its most recent graded inspection, Ofsted rated Holy Family Catholic Primary School 'Good'. 70% of its pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of Key Stage 2, above the national average (national figure: 61%). The proportion reaching the expected standard has fallen by 4.0 percentage points compared with the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the top 35% of primary schools nationally.

Pupils achieved an average scaled score of 107 in reading and 103 in maths (national averages are about 105 and 104). 9% reached the higher standard across all three subjects (around 8% do so nationally). 90% of the families who made Holy Family Catholic Primary School their first choice were offered a Reception place for September 2026, even though the school made at least as many offers as it had first choices - the rest withdrew, moved or fell outside a priority group. In 2025 the furthest child offered a place lived 1.54 miles from the school in a straight line, according to the council's published allocation figures; the distance changes every year with demand. Overall pupil absence was 4.2%. There are about 21.8 pupils per teacher. Given the recent dip in results, it may be worth asking the school what is behind the change and what is being done in response. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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