School Chooser

Little Heath School

Special · ages 11-19MixedFoundation special school264 pupilsSixth formRomfordRedbridge
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, February 2024
Strong pass in English and maths0%England 46%
Attendance88.5%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families50%Far more than most schools
PlacesFull264 pupils, 260 places
Pupils per teacher6.8School workforce census

Little Heath School is a foundation special school in Romford for boys and girls aged 11 to 19. It has 264 pupils, 4 more than it has places for. About 50 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

Hainault Road, Little Heath, Romford, RM6 5RX020 8599 4864lheath.netMrs Fawzia Govender headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 28 February 2024 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.

Results

GCSE results, summer 2025

24 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.

Average GCSE score0.3
England 46.8
Official name: Attainment 8
Strong pass in English and maths0%
England 46%
Official name: Grade 5+ in English and maths
Standard pass in English and maths0%
England 66%
Official name: Grade 4+ in English and maths
Progress from age 11-1.50In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level. (From 2023/24, the latest year there is. The government didn't work it out for the 2025 year group.)Official name: Progress 8
Trend
Average GCSE score
2018 to 2025
2018: 1.11.120182019: 0.60.620192022: 0.70.720222023: 0.40.420232024: 1.51.520242025: 0.30.32025
Since 2018: -0.8
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure202520242023202220192018RedbridgeEngland
Pupils at the end of Year 11243729152324
Average GCSE scoreAttainment 80.31.50.40.70.61.155.046.8
Progress from age 11Progress 8-1.50-1.55-1.77-1.48-1.30
Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths0%0%0%0%0%0%61%46%
Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths0%0%0%0%0%0%78%66%
Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score0.000.070.000.000.000.015.044.15
Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry0%0%0%0%0%0%58%41%
Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged0.32.30.50.81.6
Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged0.30.60.30.50.5
Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers1.50.40.80.61.0

Subjects

Results came out for 1 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.

What is taught here

The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.

Every subject against England, 2025
SubjectEntriesGrades 9 to 7Grades 9 to 5Grades 9 to 4England 9 to 5Rank in England
Art and Design70%0%0%58%

In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.

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 GCSE, 2025

Average GCSE scoreLow-income pupils vs other pupils
0.30.3
No gapEngland 12.2
Strong pass in English and mathsLow-income pupils vs other pupils
0%0%
No gapEngland 22 pts
Average GCSE scoreBoys vs girls
0.30.3
No gapEngland 3.0
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 Redbridge council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll264Census January 2026
Places260102% full
Pupils from low-income families51%50% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English52%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%264 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)47%£99,000 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls205 / 59
White British pupils8%

Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, moderate learning difficulties, physical disability, profound and multiple learning difficulties, speech, language and communication, severe 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 Redbridge with autism provision.

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (150), language and communications needs (69), Moderate learning difficulty (9), Severe learning difficulty (9), Other difficulty or disability (8), Specific learning difficulty (7).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll264236213196199181
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals51%40%40%41%37%37%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language52%53%57%55%49%48%
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 88.5% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance88.5%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school40.5%
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 absence11.5%11.0%13.6%13.2%23.5%8.4%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence8.7%8.0%9.4%6.9%19.9%6.7%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence2.9%3.0%4.3%6.4%3.6%1.7%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence40.5%33.8%41.3%38.4%76.3%27.7%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.00.00.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00010

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

Where the 29 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.

Still in education, work or training100%and stayed there for at least six months

Among pupils from low-income families it was 100%, compared with 100% for everyone else.

Earlier years
Destination2022/23 leavers2021/22 leavers2020/21 leavers2019/20 leavers
Still in education, work or training100%100%96%96%
Education100%100%96%96%
Apprenticeship0%0%0%0%
Work0%0%0%0%
Not in education, work or training0%0%4%4%

Staff and money

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

Teachers38.6full-time equivalent, 40 people
Pupils per teacher6.8Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers78%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants61.8full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£57,061
Teachers who left in the year11%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher13.52024/25

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£31,860England £32,258. Total £7.5m
Income per pupil£32,373England £32,367. Total £7.6m
Spent on teachers per pupil£11,502England £11,930
Money in reserve12%A healthy amount put by: £898k, £3,804 per pupil. England 7%
Money in against money out+£121kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£31,860spent 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 m15912 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate75 per 1,000 people18% lower than the England average
Typical house price£500,000Redbridge
Nearest bus stop130 mHainault Road Little Heath, 7 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
Atam AcademyFree school400 m1,083Good 202473Compare
The Constance Bridgeman CentrePupil referral unit470 m21No overall grade 2025Compare
Grove Primary SchoolCouncil620 m666Not inspected84Compare
Newbridge SchoolAcademy940 m198Not inspectedCompare
St Bede's Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic940 m426No overall grade 202499Compare
Rose Lane Primary SchoolCouncil0.8 miles582Requires improvement 20243Compare
Chadwell Heath AcademyAcademy0.9 miles1,229No overall grade 202572Compare
Hatchside SchoolFree school0.9 miles102Good 2023Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Little Heath School a good school?

Little Heath School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in February 2024.

What is Little Heath School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Little Heath School good at its last full inspection on 28 February 2024.

How good are Little Heath School's GCSE results?

In summer 2025, 0% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 0.3, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.

How many pupils does Little Heath School have?

264 pupils aged 11 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 260 places, so it is 102% full.

What is attendance like at Little Heath School?

Pupils were in school 88.5% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 40% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does Little Heath School have specialist SEND provision?

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

Does Little Heath School 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
Hainault Road, Little Heath, Romford, RM6 5RX
Telephone
020 8599 4864
Website
www.lheath.net
Headteacher
Mrs Fawzia Govender
Type of school
Foundation special school (Foundation special school, special schools)
Phase
Special school, ages 11-19, with sixth form
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Redbridge
Ward
Aldborough
Constituency
Ilford North
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
102878 · LAESTAB 3175950 · UKPRN 10016317

Recent changes

  • New KS4 results for 2024/25

Where these figures come from