Finchingfield St John the Baptist CofE Primary Academy
Finchingfield St John the Baptist CofE Primary Academy is a converter academy in Braintree for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 71 pupils and room for 84. About 15 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England.
Vicarage Road, Finchingfield, Braintree, CM7 4LD01371 810423finchingfield.academyMrs Samina Metson headteacherAll details
Ofsted
Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.
Results
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
3 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2019† | 2018† | 2017† | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 3 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 9 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | – | 83% | 57% | 83% | 80% | 33% | 64% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | – | 33% | 0% | 17% | 20% | 11% | 10% | 8% |
| Reading scoreReading average scaled score | – | 109.0 | 106.0 | 104.0 | 107.0 | 100.0 | 105.9 | 105.6 |
| Maths scoreMaths average scaled score | – | 107.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 | 100.0 | 104.8 | 104.6 |
| Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score | – | 106.0 | 101.0 | 101.0 | 102.0 | 99.0 | 105.3 | 105.2 |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | – | 83% | 86% | 83% | 100% | 44% | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | – | 83% | 86% | 83% | 80% | 56% | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | – | 83% | 57% | 83% | 100% | 78% | – | – |
| Reading progressReading progress score | – | – | +3.0 | – | +2.3 | -0.9 | – | – |
| Maths progressMaths progress score | – | – | +1.3 | – | +0.6 | -0.1 | – | – |
There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.
† These results are for Finchingfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, the school this one replaced in April 2020. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.
31 places were empty (37% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 7% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.
How places were given out for September 2026. The last place was given under this rule: Criterion 4.
| Entry | Places | Applied at all | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Primary | 12 | 24 | – | LA |
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (5), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (5), emotional and mental health (4), language and communications needs (3), Moderate learning difficulty (1), Multi-sensory impairment (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 71 | 61 | 47 | 56 | 61 | 69 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 13% | 8% | 4% | 4% | 5% | 4% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 23% | 15% | 13% | 12% | 15% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 3% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.4% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19† | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 5.7% | 4.5% | 5.4% | 7.6% | 2.3% | 4.7% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 4.3% | 3.6% | 5.1% | 7.5% | 1.9% | 4.0% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.3% | 0.9% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.4% | 0.8% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 18.2% | 10.5% | 14.9% | 18.9% | 1.8% | 13.3% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
† These attendance figures are for Finchingfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, the school this one replaced in April 2020. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Bardfield Primary School | Council | 1.5 miles | 117 | Report card 2026 | 38 | Compare |
| Wethersfield CofE VC Primary School | Church of England | 1.6 miles | 44 | Good 2024 | 41 | Compare |
| Great Sampford Community Primary School | Council | 3.2 miles | 79 | Good 2023 | 63 | Compare |
| Shalford Primary School | Academy | 3.6 miles | 73 | Good 2019 | 98 | Compare |
| St Margaret's Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Toppesfield | Church of England | 4.4 miles | 63 | Good 2022 | 14 | Compare |
| Thaxted Primary School | Foundation | 4.7 miles | 228 | Good 2024 | 59 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Finchingfield St John the Baptist CofE Primary Academy a good school?
We don't have enough published data to score Finchingfield St John the Baptist CofE Primary Academy yet.
How many pupils does Finchingfield St John the Baptist CofE Primary Academy have?
71 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 84 places, so it is 85% full.
Is Finchingfield St John the Baptist CofE Primary Academy oversubscribed?
Probably not. 31 places were empty in 2024/25 (37% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at Finchingfield St John the Baptist CofE Primary Academy?
Pupils were in school 94.4% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 18% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Finchingfield St John the Baptist CofE Primary Academy?
The average class had 17.8 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Vicarage Road, Finchingfield, Braintree, CM7 4LD
- Telephone
- 01371 810423
- Website
- www.finchingfield.academy
- Headteacher
- Mrs Samina Metson
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 4-11, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England, Diocese of Chelmsford
- Multi-academy trust
- Canonium Learning Trust (12 schools)
- Local authority
- Essex
- Ward
- Three Fields
- Constituency
- Braintree
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 April 2020 (academy converter)
- URN
- 147817 · LAESTAB 8813208 · UKPRN 10085818
- Formerly
- Finchingfield Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Essex council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2026.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.