School Chooser

Cherry Garden School

Special · ages 2-11MixedCouncil112 pupilsNurseryLondonSouthwark
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
Reached the expected level at 110%England 63%
Attendance82.6%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families61%Far more than most schools
Places1 spare112 pupils, 113 places
Pupils per teacher5.0School workforce census
Pupils on roll112Census January 2026

Cherry Garden School is a council special school in London for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. It has 112 pupils and room for 113. About 61 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England.

41 Bellenden Road, London, SE15 5BB020 7237 4050cherrygardenschool.co.ukMs Kelly Hawker headteacherAll details

Ofsted

Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

18 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.

Reached the expected level at 110%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level0%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading scoreOfficial name: Reading average scaled score
Maths scoreOfficial name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 0%0%20172018: 0%0%20182019: 0%0%20192023: 0%0%20232024: 0%0%20242025: 0%0%2025
Since 2017: +0%
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017SouthwarkEngland
Pupils tested1898896
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%0%0%0%70%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%0%0%0%12%8%
Expected level: readingReading expected standard0%0%0%0%0%0%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard0%0%0%0%0%0%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)0%0%0%0%0%0%
Reading progressReading progress score-0.2
Maths progressMaths progress score-0.6
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged0%0%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged0%

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.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. Every gap at this school is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
0%0%
No gapEngland 21 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%0%
No gapEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Southwark council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll112Census January 2026
Places11399% full
Pupils from low-income families60%61% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English29%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%112 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)60%£102,300 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls64 / 48
White British pupils14%

Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, hearing impairment, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, profound and multiple learning difficulties, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties, specific learning difficulties, visual impairment.

To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Southwark with autism provision.

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Severe learning difficulty (45), Autistic spectrum disorder (26), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (25), language and communications needs (10), Physical disability (3).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll1129488908580
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals60%57%49%42%44%51%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language29%22%19%18%19%23%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support0%0%0%0%0%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans100%100%100%100%100%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 82.6% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance82.6%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school57.0%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission2.9%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence17.4%15.8%17.2%14.0%19.4%10.2%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence14.5%13.9%15.2%12.9%19.3%9.0%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence2.9%1.9%2.0%1.1%0.1%1.3%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence57.0%56.0%61.3%41.1%57.8%36.0%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.00.00.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers22.2full-time equivalent, 24 people
Pupils per teacher5.0Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants36.4full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£60,045
Teachers who left in the year12%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher1.92024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£42,630England £32,258. Total £4.0m
Income per pupil£44,391England £32,367. Total £4.2m
Spent on teachers per pupil£15,811England £11,930
Money in reserve11%A healthy amount put by: £444k, £4,724 per pupil. England 7%
Money in against money out+£166kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£42,630spent per pupil

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

Crimes within 500 m2,84612 months to June 2026, mostly anti-social behaviour
Local crime rate288 per 1,000 people217% higher than the England average
Typical house price£550,000Southwark
Nearest bus stop190 mHanover Park, 27 stops within 500 m

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 schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Harris Academy PeckhamAcademy140 m458No overall grade 202563Compare
St James the Great Roman Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic250 m228Good 202279Compare
The VillaIndependent450 m180Not inspectedCompare
Oliver Goldsmith Primary SchoolCouncil500 m358Good 202218Compare
Camberwell College of ArtsMiscellaneous620 mNot inspectedCompare
Nell Gwynn Nursery SchoolLocal authority nursery school630 m91Good 2023Compare
The Belham Primary SchoolFree school680 m385Good 202485Compare
Harris Primary Academy Peckham ParkAcademy700 m242Good 202459Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Cherry Garden School a good school?

We don't have enough published data to score Cherry Garden School yet.

How good are Cherry Garden School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 0% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.

How many pupils does Cherry Garden School have?

112 pupils aged 2 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 113 places, so it is 99% full.

What is attendance like at Cherry Garden School?

Pupils were in school 82.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 57% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does Cherry Garden School have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It is a special school for autism, hearing impairment, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, profound and multiple learning difficulties, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties, specific learning difficulties, visual impairment. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
41 Bellenden Road, London, SE15 5BB
Telephone
020 7237 4050
Website
www.cherrygardenschool.co.uk
Headteacher
Ms Kelly Hawker
Type of school
Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
Phase
Special school, ages 2-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Southwark
Ward
Rye Lane
Constituency
Peckham
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
100881 · LAESTAB 2107186 · UKPRN 10077047

Where these figures come from