Highbury Fields

Summary

Highbury Fields (E02000566) is part of Islington local authority (view on map). Highbury Fields has an approximate population of 8,500 people, of which 15% are children 15 years old and under. It is classified as "urban: nearer to a major town or city".

Highbury Fields neighbours Gillespie Road, Highbury, Lower Holloway, Canonbury East & Mildmay Park, Caledonian Road, Islington North & Canonbury West, and Barnsbury East.

Headlines

  • 19% of pupils are receiving SEN support, placing it in the top 10% of all areas in England – see more.
  • 7% of pupils have an EHC plan, placing it in the top 10% of all areas in England – see more.
Guidance and data sources

Local area pages are based on the middle-layer super output areas (MSOAs) distributed across the country. MSOAs comprise between 2,000 and 6,000 households and have a resident population of, generally, between 5,000 and 15,000 people. MSOAs fit within local authorities. For each area, descriptive statistics are compared with local authority and national averages. For more information about MSOAs, please visit the Office for National Statistics website.

The data displayed is sourced from:


Deprivation

Highbury Fields is the 2nd least deprived area in Islington (out of 23) with 26% of children living in low-income families, compared to 53% across Islington and 38% nationally.

Data source


State-funded pupil characteristics

Information acquired from the school census.

Free school meals

In Highbury Fields, 34% of state-funded pupils are eligible for free school meals, compared to 50% in Islington and 27% nationally.


Contents

Percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals

Table showing the percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals

% in Highbury Fields % in Islington % in England
Eligible for free school meals 34% 50% 27%
Not eligible for free school meals 66% 50% 73%

Data source


Special educational needs

In Highbury Fields, 26% of pupils in state-funded settings have special educational needs (SEN), compared to 24% in Islington, and 19% nationally.

This includes the number of pupils with an education, health and care (EHC) plan and the number of pupils with SEN support.

19% of pupils are receiving SEN support, placing it in the top 10% of all areas in England . In addition, 7% of pupils have an EHC plan, placing it in the top 10% of all areas in England.

Contents

Percentage of pupils with special educational needs in schools

Table showing the percentage of pupils with special educational needs in schools

% in Highbury Fields % in Islington % in England
No special educational needs 74% 76% 81%
Receiving special educational needs support 19% 17% 14%
With an education, health, and care plan (EHCP) 7% 7% 5%

Data source


Ethnicity

In Highbury Fields, 46% of pupils are from a minority ethnic background, compared to 61% in Islington, and 33% nationally.

Percentages may not sum to 100%, due to small values being suppressed.


Contents

Percentage of pupils by major ethnic groups

Table

% in Highbury Fields % in Islington % in England
White 53% 40% 67%
Asian 7% 9% 14%
Black 14% 23% 7%
Mixed 19% 19% 7%
Other 6% 8% 3%
Not known 1% 2% 2%

Data source

English as an additional language

The percentage of pupils in Highbury Fields with English as an additional language is 29%, compared with 38% in Islington, and 22% nationally.

Numbers may not sum to 100%, due to a small number of pupils with an unclassified language.


Contents

Percentage of pupils with English as an additional language

Table

% in Highbury Fields % in Islington % in England
Known or believed to be other than English 29% 38% 22%
Known or believed to be English 71% 62% 78%

Data source



Provider information

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Registered childcare providers

Highbury Fields has 10 registered childcare providers.

Type Number in Highbury Fields
All childcare providers 10
Childminders 4
Pre-school/day nursery/out-of-school care 6

In Highbury Fields, there has been 1 full inspection of childcare providers since the introduction of the renewed education inspection framework in November 2025.

Under the renewed education inspection framework, childcare providers are evaluated on the following areas:

  • Achievement
  • Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines
  • Children's welfare and wellbeing
  • Curriculum and teaching
  • Inclusion
  • Leadership and governance

We use a 5-point scale to grade different areas of a provider’s work. The evaluation scale for each evaluation area, other than safeguarding, is:

  • Exceptional
  • Strong standard
  • Expected standard
  • Needs attention
  • Urgent improvement

Achievement: There have been no inspections of Achievement in Highbury Fields so no outcomes are available for this area.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).

Children's welfare and well-being: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).

Curriculum and teaching: There have been no inspections of Curriculum and teaching in Highbury Fields so no outcomes are available for this area.

Inclusion: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).

Leadership and governance: 1 was graded 'expected standard' (of 1).

The tables below show the outcomes of inspections of childcare providers in Highbury Fields. The tables are split by provider type, and show the number of inspections that have taken place for each area, and the outcomes of those inspections.

Contents

All childcare

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Achievement 0 0 0 0 0 0
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines 1 0 0 1 0 0
Children's welfare and well-being 1 0 0 1 0 0
Curriculum and teaching 0 0 0 0 0 0
Inclusion 1 0 0 1 0 0
Leadership and governance 1 0 0 1 0 0

Childminders

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Achievement 0 0 0 0 0 0
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines 0 0 0 0 0 0
Children's welfare and well-being 0 0 0 0 0 0
Curriculum and teaching 0 0 0 0 0 0
Inclusion 0 0 0 0 0 0
Leadership and governance 0 0 0 0 0 0

Full day care

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement

Sessional day care

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement

Out-of-school day care

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement

Other childcare

Number of inspections Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement

Data source


State-funded schools

Highbury Fields has 5 state-funded schools.

Type Number in Highbury Fields
All state-funded schools 5
Nursery schools 0
Primary and all-through schools 3
Secondary and all-through schools 2
Special schools 1
Registered alternative provision 0

There have been no inspections of schools in Highbury Fields since the introduction of the renewed education inspection framework in November 2025.

Data sources: