Harlow Fields School and College
Harlow Fields School and College is a council special school in Harlow for boys and girls aged 3 to 19. It has 213 pupils and room for 214. About 30 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit more than at most schools. Ofsted visited in April 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.
Tendring Road, Harlow, CM18 6RN01279 423670harlowfields.essex.sch.ukMs Kathleen Faherty headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted visited on 15 April 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.
Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.
Earlier inspections (2)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 14 January 2025 | S5 Inspection | Not judged |
| 27 September 2023 | Ungraded | School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next |
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
17 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
The government hasn't published this school's headline results. That usually means the year group was too small to publish without identifying children.
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
8 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.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | Essex | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 8 | 19 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 3 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 0% | – | 64% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 0% | – | 10% | 8% |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 0% | – | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 0% | – | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | 0% | – | – | – |
| Reading progressReading progress score | – | – | -6.5 | – | -8.4 | – | – | – |
| Maths progressMaths progress score | – | – | -6.8 | – | -8.7 | – | – | – |
| Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged | – | 0% | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged | – | 0% | – | – | – | – | – | – |
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.
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 Essex council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, moderate learning difficulties, profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties.
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 Essex with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Severe learning difficulty (176), Moderate learning difficulty (31), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (5), Specific learning difficulty (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 213 | 177 | 156 | 153 | 158 | 161 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 33% | 28% | 31% | 31% | 31% | 32% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 13% | 12% | 9% | 11% | 9% | 8% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 99% | 99% | 98% | 98% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 85.3% 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 | 14.7% | 14.2% | 13.8% | 16.6% | 25.1% | 9.8% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 12.5% | 11.2% | 12.1% | 14.4% | 23.8% | 8.9% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 2.2% | 3.1% | 1.7% | 2.1% | 1.3% | 0.9% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 45.3% | 42.3% | 48.4% | 46.0% | 76.4% | 33.3% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 6.2 | 5.1 | 5.9 | 1.3 | 1.9 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 11 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 100% | 100% | 100% | 90% |
| Education | 100% | 100% | 100% | 90% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 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 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.
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 schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sir Frederick Gibberd College | Free school | 220 m | 880 | No overall grade 2024 | 13 | Compare |
| Abbotsweld Primary Academy | Academy | 360 m | 307 | Good 2023 | 63 | Compare |
| William Martin Church of England Junior School | Academy | 410 m | 234 | Good 2022 | 21 | Compare |
| St Mark's West Essex Catholic School | Academy | 570 m | 1,099 | Good 2023 | 57 | Compare |
| William Martin Church of England Infant and Nursery School | Academy | 770 m | 185 | Good 2022 | 35 | Compare |
| St Luke's Catholic Academy | Academy | 900 m | 231 | Good 2023 | 36 | Compare |
| Beckmead Moundwood Academy | Free schools alternative provision | 0.7 miles | 65 | No overall grade 2024 | – | Compare |
| Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow | Academy | 0.7 miles | 978 | Requires improvement 2024 | 4 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Harlow Fields School and College a good school?
Harlow Fields School and College doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted's report card from April 2026 rated its teaching as .
What is Harlow Fields School and College's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 15 April 2026 it rated .
How good are Harlow Fields School and College'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 Harlow Fields School and College have?
213 pupils aged 3 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 214 places, so it is 100% full.
What is attendance like at Harlow Fields School and College?
Pupils were in school 85.3% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 45% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Harlow Fields School and College have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for autism, moderate learning difficulties, profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Harlow Fields School and College have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Tendring Road, Harlow, CM18 6RN
- Telephone
- 01279 423670
- Website
- www.harlowfields.essex.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Ms Kathleen Faherty
- Type of school
- Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 3-19, with nursery, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Essex
- Ward
- Passmores
- Constituency
- Harlow
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 April 1999
- URN
- 131838 · LAESTAB 8817070 · UKPRN 10015618
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
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.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- 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.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- 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.