The Compass School
The Compass School is a special free school in Romford for boys and girls aged 7 to 16. It has 53 pupils and room for 60. About 72 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England.
373 London Road, Romford, RM7 9NU01708 393247thecompassschool.orgMs Catharine Wensley headteacherAll details
Ofsted
Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.
Results
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
4 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 | Havering | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 4 | 3 | – | – |
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
Open to all. There is no entrance test.
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 Havering 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 social, emotional and mental health.
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 Havering with social, emotional and mental health provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (35), Autistic spectrum disorder (8), Moderate learning difficulty (6), Specific learning difficulty (3), language and communications needs (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 53 | 40 | 22 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 72% | 58% | 50% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 8% | 8% | 5% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 5% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 96% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 74.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 25.3% | 30.0% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 15.8% | 20.9% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 9.4% | 9.1% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 61.7% | 82.1% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 60.0 | 154.6 | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 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 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.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Edward's Church of England Academy | Academy | 90 m | 918 | Report card 2026 | 49 | Compare |
| Crowlands Primary School | Council | 830 m | 669 | Good 2023 | 69 | Compare |
| Warren Junior School | Council | 860 m | 546 | Outstanding 2024 | 99 | Compare |
| Furze Infant School | Council | 910 m | 452 | Good 2024 | 56 | Compare |
| The Warren School | Academy | 970 m | 1,392 | Outstanding 2024 | 81 | Compare |
| Robert Clack School | Council | 0.7 miles | 3,231 | Good 2023 | 68 | Compare |
| All Saints Catholic School and Technology College | Roman Catholic | 0.7 miles | 1,345 | Outstanding 2024 | 93 | Compare |
| William Bellamy Primary School | Council | 0.9 miles | 795 | Good 2024 | 30 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is The Compass School a good school?
We don't have enough published data to score The Compass School yet.
How many pupils does The Compass School have?
53 pupils aged 7 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 60 places, so it is 88% full.
What is attendance like at The Compass School?
Pupils were in school 74.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 62% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does The Compass School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for social, emotional and mental health. 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
- 373 London Road, Romford, RM7 9NU
- Telephone
- 01708 393247
- Website
- www.thecompassschool.org
- Headteacher
- Ms Catharine Wensley
- Type of school
- Special free school (Free schools special, free schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 7-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Multi-academy trust
- Unity Schools Partnership (40 schools)
- Local authority
- Havering
- Ward
- Rush Green & Crowlands
- Constituency
- Romford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2023 (new provision)
- URN
- 149720 · LAESTAB 3117005 · UKPRN 10093071
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.
- 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, academy accounts return 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.