Elephant & Castle

Summary

Elephant & Castle (E02000815) is part of Southwark local authority (view on map). Elephant & Castle has an approximate population of 8,400 people, of which 11% are children 15 years old and under. It is classified as "urban: nearer to a major town or city".

Elephant & Castle neighbours Borough & Southwark Street, London Bridge & Bermondsey West, Walworth North, Newington, Kennington East & Walworth West, and Southwark St George's.

Headlines

  • 55% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, 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.
  • 79% of pupils belong to a minority ethnic group, 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

Elephant & Castle is the 29th least deprived area in Southwark (out of 34) with 55% of children living in low-income families, compared to 43% across Southwark and 38% nationally.

Data source

State-funded pupil characteristics

Information acquired from the school census.

Free school meals

In Elephant & Castle, 55% of state-funded pupils are eligible for free school meals, compared to 42% in Southwark and 27% nationally.

55% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, placing it in the top 10% of all areas in England.

Contents

Percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals

Table showing the percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals

% in Elephant & Castle % in Southwark % in England
Eligible for free school meals 55% 42% 27%
Not eligible for free school meals 45% 58% 73%

Data source

Special educational needs

In Elephant & Castle, 20% of pupils in state-funded settings have special educational needs (SEN), compared to 21% in Southwark, 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.

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 Elephant & Castle % in Southwark % in England
No special educational needs 81% 79% 81%
Receiving special educational needs support 13% 16% 14%
With an education, health, and care plan (EHCP) 7% 5% 5%

Data source

Ethnicity

In Elephant & Castle, 79% of pupils are from a minority ethnic background, compared to 71% in Southwark, and 33% nationally.

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

79% of pupils belong to a minority ethnic group, placing it in the top 10% of all areas in England.

Contents

Percentage of pupils by major ethnic groups

Table

% in Elephant & Castle % in Southwark % in England
White 18% 30% 67%
Asian 19% 7% 14%
Black 37% 37% 7%
Mixed 10% 15% 7%
Other 14% 8% 3%
Not known 2% 4% 2%

Data source

English as an additional language

The percentage of pupils in Elephant & Castle with English as an additional language is 46%, compared with 32% in Southwark, 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 Elephant & Castle % in Southwark % in England
Known or believed to be other than English 46% 32% 22%
Known or believed to be English 54% 68% 78%

Data source

Provider information

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Registered childcare providers

Elephant & Castle has 12 registered childcare providers.

Type Number in Elephant & Castle
All childcare providers 12
Childminders 8
Pre-school/day nursery/out-of-school care 4

In Elephant & Castle, 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 Elephant & Castle so no outcomes are available for this area.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: There have been no inspections of Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines in Elephant & Castle so no outcomes are available for this area.

Children's welfare and well-being: There have been no inspections of Children's welfare and well-being in Elephant & Castle so no outcomes are available for this area.

Curriculum and teaching: There have been no inspections of Curriculum and teaching in Elephant & Castle so no outcomes are available for this area.

Inclusion: There have been no inspections of Inclusion in Elephant & Castle so no outcomes are available for this area.

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

The tables below show the outcomes of inspections of childcare providers in Elephant & Castle. 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 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 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 1 0 0 1 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

Elephant & Castle has no state-funded schools.

Data sources: