School Chooser

Richard Cloudesley School

Special · ages 2-19MixedCouncil109 pupilsSixth formNurseryLondonIslington
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedOutstandingConfirmed by Ofsted, October 2023
Attendance85.8%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families38%Far more than most schools
PlacesFull109 pupils, 104 places
Pupils per teacher5.1School workforce census
Pupils on roll109Census January 2026

Richard Cloudesley School is a council special school in London for boys and girls aged 2 to 19. It has 109 pupils, 5 more than it has places for. About 38 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was outstanding, back in 2023.

Tudor Rose Building, 1 Prebend Street, London, N1 8RE020 7704 8127cloudesley.islington.sch.ukMr Francis Gonzalez headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 18 October 2023 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Outstanding 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

3 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. Fewer than eleven pupils sat the exams, so the figures could identify individual children.

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

5 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 11Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected levelOfficial name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading scoreOfficial name: Reading average scaled score
Maths scoreOfficial name: Maths average scaled score
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017IslingtonEngland
Pupils tested524353

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

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll109Census January 2026
Places104105% full
Pupils from low-income families42%38% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English44%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support3%3 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan97%106 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)40%£48,150 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls71 / 38
White British pupils17%

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

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Profound and multiple learning difficulty (50), Severe learning difficulty (48), Moderate learning difficulty (11).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll1099884848387
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals42%47%44%48%49%49%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language44%42%48%50%52%46%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support0%0%0%0%2%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans100%100%100%100%98%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 85.8% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance85.8%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school56.0%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.2%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence14.2%16.0%20.3%17.2%9.1%12.5%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence14.0%15.8%18.8%17.1%9.1%12.5%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.2%0.2%1.5%0.1%0.1%0.0%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence56.0%59.6%66.1%64.2%31.7%37.5%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.00.00.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

Where the 8 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.

Still in education, work or training88%and stayed there for at least six months
Earlier years
Destination2022/23 leavers2021/22 leavers2020/21 leavers2019/20 leavers
Still in education, work or training88%100%100%88%
Education88%100%100%88%
Apprenticeship0%0%0%0%
Work0%0%0%0%
Not in education, work or training0%0%0%0%

Staff and money

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

Teachers21.4full-time equivalent, 23 people
Pupils per teacher5.1Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers96%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants51.2full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£68,791
Teachers who left in the year19%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher7.02024/25

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£56,603England £32,258. Total £5.5m
Income per pupil£53,774England £32,367. Total £5.3m
Spent on teachers per pupil£20,173England £11,930
Money in reserve8%Not much put by: £408k, £4,162 per pupil. England 7%
Money in against money out-£277kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£56,603spent 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 m2,26912 months to June 2026, mostly anti-social behaviour
Local crime rate107 per 1,000 people18% higher than the England average
Typical house price£665,000Islington
Nearest bus stop100 mPackington Street / Cruden St, 17 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
City of London Academy IslingtonAcademy60 m852Not inspected19Compare
Hanover Primary SchoolCouncil350 m244Good 202465Compare
St Mary's CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England420 m171Good 202314Compare
St John Evangelist Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic450 m204Good 202415Compare
The New North AcademyAcademy480 m116Good 202111Compare
Thomas Fairchild Community SchoolCouncil600 m210Good 202359Compare
Rotherfield Primary SchoolCouncil640 m331Good 202333Compare
The ArtsXchangeFree schools alternative provision660 m15Good 2024Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Richard Cloudesley School a good school?

Richard Cloudesley School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it outstanding at its last inspection in October 2023.

What is Richard Cloudesley School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Richard Cloudesley School outstanding at its last full inspection on 18 October 2023.

How many pupils does Richard Cloudesley School have?

109 pupils aged 2 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 104 places, so it is 105% full.

What is attendance like at Richard Cloudesley School?

Pupils were in school 85.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 56% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does Richard Cloudesley School have specialist SEND provision?

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

Does Richard Cloudesley 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
Tudor Rose Building, 1 Prebend Street, London, N1 8RE
Telephone
020 7704 8127
Website
www.cloudesley.islington.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mr Francis Gonzalez
Type of school
Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
Phase
Special school, ages 2-19, with nursery, with sixth form
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Islington
Ward
St Mary's & St James'
Constituency
Islington South and Finsbury
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
100467 · LAESTAB 2067030 · UKPRN 10015931

Recent changes

  • New KS4 results for 2024/25

Where these figures come from