OFSTED
Latest graded inspection
26 March 2024
Latest published outcome
Outstanding
OEIF
Quality of education
Outstanding
Behaviour & attitudes
Outstanding
Personal development
Outstanding
Leadership & management
Outstanding
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Free schools special
Phase
Not applicable
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
—
Local authority
Essex
Trust
HOPE LEARNING COMMUNITY
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics
for 2025/26.
2025/26
Total pupils
75
75 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
14
18.7% of pupils
Male pupils
61
81.3% of pupils
5.9 pts
above England
School
30.7%
Braintree
19.6%
East of England
19.7%
England
24.8%
15.0 pts
below England
School
5.3%
Braintree
6.8%
East of England
16.4%
England
20.3%
1.0 pts
below England
School
0.0%
Braintree
1.1%
East of England
1.7%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
Any other White background
6.7%
5
Any other Black background
2.7%
2
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an
education, health and care plan.
2025/26
Pupils with SEN
100.0%
75 of
75 pupils
79.2 pts
above England
England:
20.8%
SEN support
0.0%
0 pupils
England
14.8%
14.8 pts
below
EHC plans
100.0%
75 pupils
England
6.0%
94.0 pts
above
PRIMARY NEEDS
Most common identified needs
Pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder
63
Severe learning difficulty
9
Speech, language & communication
2
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.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education
absence data for
2024/25.
Lower absence rates are generally
better.
2024/25
ABSENCE RATE
Overall absence
8.37%
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
2.15 pts
higher than
England
School
8.37%
Braintree
6.23%
East of England
6.17%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
Persistent absence
29.41%
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
13.60 pts
higher than
England
School
29.41%
Braintree
15.73%
East of England
15.39%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
Severe absence
1.47%
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
0.33 pts
lower than
England
School
1.47%
Braintree
1.96%
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
not applicable schools.
CAPACITY
Capacity utilisation
100.0%
20.2 pts
above England
Chatten Free School
100.0%
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.