Great Totham Primary School
Catchment Area, Reviews and Key Information

Primary
PUPILS
428
AGES
4 - 11
GENDER
Mixed
TYPE
Foundation school
SCHOOL GUIDE RATING
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Can I Get My Child Into This School?

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This pupil heat map shows where pupils currently attending the school live.
The concentration of pupils shows likelihood of admission based on distance criteria

Source: All attending pupils National School Census Data, ONS
0845 603 2200

This School Guide heat map has been plotted using official pupil data taken from the last School Census collected by the Department for Education. It is a visualisation of where pupils lived at the time of the annual School Census.

Our heat maps use groups of postcodes, not individual postcodes, and have naturally soft edges. All pupils are included in the mapping (i.e. children with siblings already at the school, high priority pupils and selective and/or religious admissions) but we may have removed statistical ‘outliers’ with more remote postcodes that do not reflect majority admissions.

For some schools, the heat map may be a useful indicator of the catchment area but our heat maps are not the same as catchment area maps. Catchment area maps, published by the school or local authority, are based on geographical admissions criteria and show actual cut-off distances and pre-defined catchment areas for a single admission year.

This information is provided as a guide only. The criteria in which schools use to allocate places in the event that they are oversubscribed can and do vary between schools and over time. These criteria can include distance from the school and sometimes specific catchment areas but can also include, amongst others, priority for siblings, children of a particular faith or specific feeder schools. Living in an area where children have previously attended a school does not guarantee admission to the school in future years. Always check with the school’s own admission authority for the current admission arrangements.

3 steps to help parents gather catchment information for a school:

  1. Look at our school catchment area guide for more information on heat maps. They give a useful indicator of the general areas that admit pupils to the school. This visualisation is based on all attending pupils present at the time of the annual School Census.
  2. Use the link to the Local Authority Contact (above) to find catchment area information based on a single admission year. This is very important if you are considering applying to a school.
  3. On each school page, use the link to visit the school website and find information on individual school admissions criteria. Geographical criteria are only applied after pupils have been admitted on higher priority criteria such as Looked After Children, SEN, siblings, etc.

How Does The School Perform?

Good
NATIONAL AVG. 2.09
Ofsted Inspection
(25/04/2023)
Full Report - All Reports
72%
NATIONAL AVG. 60%
% pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics



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Progress Compared With All Other Schools

UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 9% of schools in England) Below Average (About 9% of schools in England) Average (About 67% of schools in England) Above Average (About 6% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 9% of schools in England) UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 10% of schools in England) Below Average (About 9% of schools in England) Average (About 67% of schools in England) Above Average (About 6% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 8% of schools in England) UNLOCK Well Below Average (About 10% of schools in England) Below Average (About 11% of schools in England) Average (About 59% of schools in England) Above Average (About 11% of schools in England) Well Above Average (About 9% of schools in England)
Walden House Road
Great Totham
Maldon
CM9 8PN
01621891091

School Description

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the previous inspection. You have successfully created a shared commitment to provide an inclusive school in which pupils are valued and ready for the next steps of their education. An overwhelming majority of parents and pupils who responded to the online surveys would recommend the school. The comment that the school is ‘providing a safe and secure environment for my children to learn and grow in’ was typical of the sentiments expressed by many parents. You are skilfully establishing a dedicated team of staff who possess the strategies and knowledge to ensure that pupils make at least good social and academic progress. All staff who responded to the online survey agree they enjoy and are proud to be working at the school. You correctly recognise the importance of developing strong middle and senior leadership in your large primary school. Senior and subject leadership teams are having a significant impact on building upon the good-quality education that already exists. For example, when key stage 1 pupils’ progress in reading dipped in 2016, leaders altered the school’s approach to the teaching of phonics and reading from the early years upwards. As a result of improved teaching, in 2017 pupils’ achievement in phonics was above national expectations and their achievement in reading improved by the end of key stage 1. Further evidence of leaders’ effective work can also be seen in the impact on the areas identified as ones for improvement at the time of the previous inspection. For example, leaders focused upon improving the quality of pupils’ writing across the curriculum. In this, leaders have been successful and pupils write increasingly well and their achievement has improved sharply as a result. Governors provide clear strategic leadership and share your ambition to provide the highest quality education for pupils of all ages at the school. They assure themselves of the quality of provision through visits and detailed discussions with staff, such as when they recently checked the quality of the early years provision. A distinctive feature of leaders’, including governors’, work is the candour with which they reflect upon what is working and what is not. They keep each aspect of provision under careful scrutiny and make changes in a timely and effective way. For example, governors recently analysed the strengths and weaknesses of their own work. As a consequence, they are further improving the precision with which they question leaders about the progress pupils make across the curriculum. At the time of the previous inspection, pupils’ behaviour was judged to be outstanding. Pupils, including children in the early years, continue to behave exceptionally well. They knowingly reflect the school’s values of enjoy, respect and achieve. Pupils explained to me how they ‘see respect all around the school’, and that it is important to ‘just keep trying and don’t give up’ in their learning. Pupils respond extremely well to the high standards modelled by adults. In lessons, pupils are eager to learn, supportive of each other and determined to succeed. At breaktimes and lunchtimes, they mix easily and well, making suitably enthusiastic use of the wide range of facilities available to them. As a consequence of your high profile ‘Learner@Totham’ campaign, pupils value and develop the resilience to become successful in their learning. They told me how they ‘Get stuck in to learning and strive for my best’. Pupils confidently attempt more difficult tasks that teachers plan for them, through the school’s colour-coded challenges. These challenges enable pupils to make their own choices and deepen their learning experiences. Pupils also present their work neatly and well, not only in English and mathematics, but also in other subjects across the curriculum. Pupils told me how much they value the work of teachers, teaching assistants and adult helpers in providing assistance when it is needed. Safeguarding is effective. Leaders, including governors, ensure that the school meets its statutory duty to keep children safe. Each of the 127 parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, consider their children to be safe at Great Totham Primary School. Pupils also explained that they feel safe and well cared for. Their ease of manner and confidence in offering their opinions reflect their sense of security. There is a palpable sense of mutual respect and trust at the school. As a result of regular training, staff understand and are alert to their responsibilities with regards to safeguarding pupils. Adults know the signs that indicate a pupil may be vulnerable or at risk. They report concerns appropriately. Inspection evidence 2 indicates that staff clearly understand and consistently follow policies and processes, such as using the school’s specific reporting forms. Leaders keep wellorganised school records. These confirm the timely action taken to ensure that pupils receive appropriate support when needed. Pupils have an age-appropriate knowledge of what bullying is and what it is not. Importantly, they can clearly distinguish between ‘falling out’ and bullying. Pupils recognise the importance of quickly resolving any friendship issues that may occur. They understand the upset that bullying can cause and told me it was a rare occurrence at their school. Pupils express clear confidence that adults would deal with any incidents of bullying well. Inspection findings My initial line of enquiry was to establish the progress pupils are making in mathematics. This is because, in 2017, pupils’ achievement in mathematics at the end of key stage 2 fell and was lower than in reading and writing. Leaders have carefully examined the reasons why pupils have previously not achieved as well in mathematics as they should have. Using this information, leaders have taken decisive action to improve the consistency and confidence with which mathematics is taught. As a result of appropriate training and clear direction from numeracy leaders, teachers are more skilled at planning and implementing mathematics learning activities. For example, teachers make good use of their training in developing pupils’ problem-solving and questioning skills. Consequently, pupils make good progress in mathematics. The well-designed mathematics curriculum includes logically sequenced programmes of learning which contain a wide range of activities. This has ignited pupils’ enthusiasm for the subject. Pupils told me how much they enjoy learning in their mathematics lessons. Comments such as ‘I like the challenges’ and ‘I enjoy seeking patterns in numbers’ were typical of views expressed. As outlined in the school’s approach to teaching mathematics, teachers regularly revisit key mathematical concepts to ensure that pupils have a secure grasp of each one. Evidence from pupils’ books demonstrates they are putting their knowledge of these concepts to good use as they attempt progressively more complex mathematical problems. Teachers provide pupils with frequent and regular opportunities to practise these skills and pupils respond enthusiastically and well. For example, pupils in Year 6 worked extremely well together, using their knowledge of factors and equivalency to develop puzzles for their classmates to solve. Leaders’ accurate evaluation of the quality of teaching, learning and assessment demonstrates there is work to be done to ensure that all teachers replicate the strong practice seen in many classes. For example, in a small number of classes, teachers do not consistently provide opportunities for pupils to achieve the higher standards of which they are capable.

Great Totham Primary School Parent Reviews



unlock % Parents Recommend This School
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>58, "agree"=>37, "disagree"=>3, "strongly_disagree"=>1, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 86 responses up to 25-04-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>73, "agree"=>24, "disagree"=>1, "strongly_disagree"=>1, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 86 responses up to 25-04-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>55, "agree"=>40, "disagree"=>5, "strongly_disagree"=>1, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 86 responses up to 25-04-2023
My Child Has Not Been Bullied Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"my_child_has_not_been_bullied"=>70, "strongly_agree"=>6, "agree"=>9, "disagree"=>7, "strongly_disagree"=>1, "dont_know"=>7} UNLOCK Figures based on 86 responses up to 25-04-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>63, "agree"=>34, "disagree"=>3, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 86 responses up to 25-04-2023
I Have Not Raised Any Concerns Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"i_have_not_raised_any_concerns"=>30, "strongly_agree"=>28, "agree"=>26, "disagree"=>10, "strongly_disagree"=>6, "dont_know"=>0} UNLOCK Figures based on 86 responses up to 25-04-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>38, "agree"=>25, "disagree"=>6, "strongly_disagree"=>19, "dont_know"=>13} UNLOCK Figures based on 16 responses up to 25-04-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>44, "agree"=>40, "disagree"=>8, "strongly_disagree"=>3, "dont_know"=>5} UNLOCK Figures based on 86 responses up to 25-04-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>51, "agree"=>41, "disagree"=>6, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>2} UNLOCK Figures based on 86 responses up to 25-04-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>44, "agree"=>34, "disagree"=>16, "strongly_disagree"=>5, "dont_know"=>1} UNLOCK Figures based on 86 responses up to 25-04-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>56, "agree"=>37, "disagree"=>6, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>1} UNLOCK Figures based on 86 responses up to 25-04-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>69, "agree"=>29, "disagree"=>1, "strongly_disagree"=>0, "dont_know"=>1} UNLOCK Figures based on 86 responses up to 25-04-2023
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know {"strongly_agree"=>41, "agree"=>28, "disagree"=>13, "strongly_disagree"=>5, "dont_know"=>14} UNLOCK Figures based on 86 responses up to 25-04-2023
Yes No {"yes"=>85, "no"=>15} UNLOCK Figures based on 86 responses up to 25-04-2023

Responses taken from Ofsted Parent View

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