OFSTED
10 February 2026
Latest inspection
Latest published outcome
Met
Renewed framework
Safeguarding
Met
Inclusion
Urgent improvement
Curriculum & teaching
Urgent improvement
Achievement
Urgent improvement
Attendance & behaviour
Needs attention
Personal development
Needs attention
Leadership & governance
Urgent improvement
INSPECTION HISTORY
Previous Ofsted activity
7 June 2023
Graded inspection
Requires improvement
Published
19 July 2023
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Academy converter
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
—
Local authority
Essex
Trust
THE KEMNAL ACADEMIES TRUST
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
2025/26
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.
Total pupils
614
614 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
290
47.2% of pupils
Male pupils
324
52.8% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
20.5 pts
above England
School
45.3%
Chelmsford
14.4%
East of England
19.7%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
0.9 pts
above England
School
21.2%
Chelmsford
11.6%
East of England
16.4%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
3.7 pts
above England
School
4.7%
Chelmsford
1.3%
East of England
1.7%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
65.5%
402
African
8.5%
52
Any other Mixed background
4.6%
28
Any other White background
3.7%
23
Indian
3.4%
21
Any other ethnic group
3.1%
19
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
2025/26
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.
Pupils with SEN
18.7%
115 of
614 pupils
2.1 pts
below England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
1.3 pts
above
England
6.0%
3.4 pts
below
PRIMARY NEEDS
Pupils
Most common identified needs
SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
2024/25
Key stage 4 outcomes
Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.
ATTAINMENT 8
Average attainment score
37.8
1.4 pts
below England
Latest published: -0.86 · 2023/24
Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE
2024/25
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.
ABSENCE RATE
12.34%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
6.13 pts
higher than
England
School
12.34%
Chelmsford
6.61%
East of England
6.17%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
34.18%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
18.37 pts
higher than
England
School
34.18%
Chelmsford
15.59%
East of England
15.39%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
6.92%
Severe absence
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
5.12 pts
higher than
England
School
6.92%
Chelmsford
2.32%
East of England
1.83%
England
1.80%
Council, regional and national
comparisons are averages of published
school-level percentages rather than
pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?
School context
Comparison with open secondary schools.
CAPACITY
Capacity utilisation
55.8%
36.5 pts
below England
Hylands School
55.8%
Chelmsford
94.9%
East of England
92.9%
England
92.3%
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.