R A Butler Infant School
R A Butler Infant School is a converter academy in Saffron Walden for boys and girls aged 5 to 7. It has 271 pupils, 1 more than it has places for. About 9 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England.
South Road, Saffron Walden, CB11 3DG01799 523651rab.academyEmma Vincent exectuvie headteacherAll details
Ofsted
Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.
Results
No published results yet for this school.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
The school is full, with 2 more pupils than it has places for. More families apply than can get in, so things like how close you live and whether an older brother or sister is already here decide who gets a place. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.
How places were given out for September 2026. The last place was given under this rule: Criterion 5.
| Entry | Places | Applied at all | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Primary | 90 | 177 | – | LA |
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (16), Autistic spectrum disorder (9), Physical disability (5), Moderate learning difficulty (2), emotional and mental health (2).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 271 | 271 | 269 | 272 | 271 | 256 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 9% | 9% | 8% | 8% | 9% | 8% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 14% | 15% | 14% | 13% | 5% | 5% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 11% | 12% | 9% | 10% | 11% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 3% | 4% | 3% | 3% | 2% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.7% 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 | 3.3% | 3.8% | 4.3% | 4.5% | 1.9% | 3.7% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 2.8% | 3.3% | 3.8% | 4.1% | 1.5% | 3.1% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.6% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 4.8% | 4.9% | 7.6% | 6.9% | 2.9% | 5.8% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.4 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R A Butler Junior School | Academy | 0 m | 384 | Outstanding 2024 | 99 | Compare |
| St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, Saffron Walden | Academy | 200 m | 206 | Good 2023 | 94 | Compare |
| St Mary's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School | Church of England | 770 m | 224 | Good 2023 | 73 | Compare |
| Katherine Semar Infant School | Academy | 0.7 miles | 180 | No overall grade 2025 | 97 | Compare |
| Katherine Semar Junior School | Academy | 0.7 miles | 256 | No overall grade 2025 | 97 | Compare |
| Debden Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary Academy | Academy | 3.0 miles | 140 | Good 2023 | 73 | Compare |
| Newport Primary School | Council | 3.2 miles | 155 | Good 2020 | 12 | Compare |
| Wimbish Primary Academy | Academy | 3.5 miles | 41 | Good 2022 | 5 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is R A Butler Infant School a good school?
We don't have enough published data to score R A Butler Infant School yet.
How many pupils does R A Butler Infant School have?
271 pupils aged 5 to 7 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 270 places, so it is 100% full.
Is R A Butler Infant School oversubscribed?
Probably. The school was full in 2024/25, with 2 more pupils than places. How close you live, and the school's other admissions rules, decide who gets in.
What is attendance like at R A Butler Infant School?
Pupils were in school 96.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 5% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at R A Butler Infant School?
The average class had 30.1 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 11% of classes 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
- South Road, Saffron Walden, CB11 3DG
- Telephone
- 01799 523651
- Website
- www.rab.academy
- Exectuvie Headteacher
- Emma Vincent
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 5-7
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Multi-academy trust
- Saffron Academy Trust (9 schools)
- Local authority
- Essex
- Ward
- Saffron Walden Shire
- Constituency
- North West Essex
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 November 2010 (academy converter)
- URN
- 136325 · LAESTAB 8815263 · UKPRN 10032190
- Formerly
- R A Butler Infant 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.
- 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.