OFSTED
Latest inspection
6 January 2026
Latest published outcome
Met
Renewed framework
Safeguarding
Met
Inclusion
Strong standard
Curriculum & teaching
Expected standard
Achievement
Expected standard
Attendance & behaviour
Strong standard
Personal development
Strong standard
Leadership & governance
Strong standard
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Free schools special
Phase
Not applicable
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
—
Local authority
Essex
Trust
SEAX TRUST
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics
for 2025/26.
2025/26
Total pupils
69
69 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
10
14.5% of pupils
Male pupils
59
85.5% of pupils
1.6 pts
below England
School
23.2%
Chelmsford
14.4%
East of England
19.7%
England
24.8%
8.7 pts
below England
School
11.6%
Chelmsford
11.6%
East of England
16.4%
England
20.3%
1.0 pts
below England
School
0.0%
Chelmsford
1.3%
East of England
1.7%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
Any other White background
4.3%
3
Any other Mixed background
2.9%
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%
69 of
69 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%
69 pupils
England
6.0%
94.0 pts
above
PRIMARY NEEDS
Most common identified needs
Pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder
62
Social, emotional & mental health
3
Speech, language & communication
3
Moderate learning difficulty
1
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
9.99%
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
3.78 pts
higher than
England
School
9.99%
Chelmsford
6.61%
East of England
6.17%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
Persistent absence
14.58%
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
1.23 pts
lower than
England
School
14.58%
Chelmsford
15.59%
East of England
15.39%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
Severe absence
8.33%
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
6.53 pts
higher than
England
School
8.33%
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
not applicable schools.
CAPACITY
Capacity utilisation
98.6%
18.8 pts
above England
The Hawthorns School
98.6%
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.