School Chooser

Nightingale Community Academy

Special · ages 5-19MixedAcademy139 pupilsSixth formLondonWandsworth
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedAs expected teachingOfsted report card, April 2026
Strong pass in English and maths0%England 46%
Attendance72.6%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families73%Far more than most schools
Places99 spare139 pupils, 238 places
Pupils per teacher5.8School workforce census

Nightingale Community Academy is a sponsored special academy in London for boys and girls aged 5 to 19. It has 139 pupils and room for 238. About 73 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted visited in April 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.

Beechcroft Road, Tooting, London, SW17 7DF020 8874 9096nightingaleca.orgMr Simon McBride headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted visited on 21 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.

TeachingOfsted calls this “curriculum and teaching”
As expected
Achievement
Strong
Behaviour and attendanceOfsted calls this “attendance and behaviour”
Strong
Support for every childOfsted calls this “inclusion”
Strong
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development and wellbeing”
Strong
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and governance”
Strong
Sixth formOfsted calls this “post-16”
As expected
SafeguardingAre pupils kept safe?
Pupils are kept safe
Met
Ofsted's scale:ExceptionalStrong standardExpected standardNeeds attentionUrgent improvement

Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.

Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
14 September 2022Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1Good

Results

GCSE results, summer 2025

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

Average GCSE score16.2
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 maths17%
England 66%
Official name: Grade 4+ in English and maths
Progress from age 11-1.47In each subject, pupils here finished about 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: 8.98.920182019: 5.85.820192022: 4.34.320222023: 9.69.620232024: 13.613.620242025: 16.216.22025
Since 2018: +7.3
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure202520242023202220192018WandsworthEngland
Pupils at the end of Year 11121618141013
Average GCSE scoreAttainment 816.213.69.64.35.88.952.846.8
Progress from age 11Progress 8-1.47-1.48-2.62-2.63-2.36
Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths0%0%0%0%0%0%57%46%
Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths17%0%0%0%0%0%76%66%
Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score1.150.930.710.350.450.674.934.15
Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry0%0%0%0%0%0%61%41%
Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged16.24.3
Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers13.010.14.212.6

Subjects

Results came out for 5 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.

Subjects that did worse than the England average: English Language (8% here, 54% across 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
8%England 54%
0%England 36%
Social Studies10 entries
10%England 54%
Mathematics10 entries
0%England 53%
0%England 58%
SubjectEntriesGrades 9 to 7Grades 9 to 5Grades 9 to 4England 9 to 5Rank in England
English Language240%8%8%54%
Combined Science100%0%0%36%
Social Studies100%10%20%54%
Mathematics100%0%20%53%
English Literature100%0%20%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.

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

10 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 score93.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score86.0
England 104.6
Official 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: 14%14%20232024: 0%0%20242025: 0%0%2025
Since 2017: +0%
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017WandsworthEngland
Pupils tested1097878
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%14%0%0%0%70%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%0%0%0%14%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score93.0104.0102.092.096.095.0107.3105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score86.095.099.093.085.091.0106.5104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score90.092.097.095.089.086.0107.4105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard10%33%86%0%29%13%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard0%11%43%0%0%0%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)0%0%14%0%0%0%
Reading progressReading progress score+2.3-4.2
Maths progressMaths progress score-0.3-8.4

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 Wandsworth council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll139Census January 2026
Places23858% full
Pupils from low-income families73%73% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English4%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%139 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)84%£128,400 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls139 / 0
White British pupils43%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (139).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll139137133120110111
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals73%67%70%63%45%52%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language4%2%5%7%7%6%
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 72.6% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance72.6%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school63.2%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils11.72024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission19.0%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence27.4%19.7%27.3%17.0%9.9%12.5%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence8.4%5.2%9.5%9.0%4.4%6.1%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence19.0%14.5%17.8%8.0%5.5%6.4%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence63.2%49.6%61.9%50.5%38.9%44.2%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate11.737.644.220.039.6
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

Where the 18 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.

Still in education, work or training89%and stayed there for at least six months
Earlier years
Destination2022/23 leavers2021/22 leavers2020/21 leavers2019/20 leavers
Still in education, work or training89%79%85%100%
Education89%79%85%100%
Apprenticeship0%0%0%0%
Work0%0%0%0%
Not in education, work or training0%14%8%0%

Staff and money

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

Teachers24.0full-time equivalent, 24 people
Pupils per teacher5.8Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers71%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants20.8full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£58,358
Teachers who left in the year40%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher10.32024/25

Money

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

Spend per pupil£41,839England £30,720. Total £5.7m
Income per pupil£45,058England £33,526. Total £6.2m
Spent on teachers per pupil£18,854England £11,966
Money in reserve0%Very little put by: £18k, £133 per pupil. England 16%
Money in against money out+£441kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£41,839spent 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 m88312 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate139 per 1,000 people52% higher than the England average
Typical house price£650,000Wandsworth
Nearest bus stop70 mMarham Gardens, 15 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
Finton House SchoolIndependent400 m350Not inspectedCompare
Ernest Bevin AcademyAcademy450 m572Report card 202662Compare
Wandsworth Hospital and Home Tuition ServicePupil referral unit590 m9Outstanding 2023Compare
Fircroft Primary SchoolAcademy610 m266No overall grade 2024Compare
Burntwood SchoolAcademy660 m1,462Not inspected64Compare
Beatrix Potter Primary SchoolCouncil830 m362Good 202467Compare
Chelsea Hall SchoolIndependent970 m47Not inspectedCompare
Earlsfield Primary SchoolCouncil0.6 miles459Outstanding 202396Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Nightingale Community Academy a good school?

Nightingale Community Academy doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted's report card from April 2026 rated its teaching as as expected.

What is Nightingale Community Academy's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 21 April 2026 it rated teaching as as expected, achievement as strong, behaviour and attendance as strong, leadership as strong.

How good are Nightingale Community Academy'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 16.2, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished about a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.

How good are Nightingale Community Academy'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 Nightingale Community Academy have?

139 pupils aged 5 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 238 places, so it is 58% full.

What is attendance like at Nightingale Community Academy?

Pupils were in school 72.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 63% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does Nightingale Community Academy 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
Beechcroft Road, Tooting, London, SW17 7DF
Telephone
020 8874 9096
Website
www.nightingaleca.org
Headteacher
Mr Simon McBride
Type of school
Sponsored special academy (Academy special sponsor led, academies)
Phase
Special school, ages 5-19, with sixth form
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Orchard Hill College Academy Trust (13 schools)
Local authority
Wandsworth
Ward
Trinity
Constituency
Tooting
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 September 2016 (new provision)
URN
143175 · LAESTAB 2127000 · UKPRN 10057808
Formerly
Nightingale Community Academy

Recent changes

  • New KS4 results for 2024/25

Where these figures come from