Code: E09000025
Director of Children's Services: Laura Eden


Summary of Ofsted findings

Summary of Ofsted findings

Inspection of Newham’s local authority children’s services

These inspections focus on the effectiveness of local authority services and arrangements:

  • to help and protect children, and enable families to stay together and get the help they need
  • the experiences and progress of children in care wherever they live, including those children who return home
  • the arrangements for permanence for children who are looked after, in stable, loving homes, including adoption
  • the experiences and progress of care leavers.
Inspection type Inspection start date Overall effectiveness Impact of leaders Help and protection Children in care Care leavers
ILACS Short Inspection 10 November 2025 Outstanding Outstanding Outstanding Outstanding Outstanding
ILACS Standard Inspection 18 July 2022 Good Outstanding Good Good No outcome

Data source

Area SEND inspection of Newham Local Area Partnership

The purpose of an area SEND inspection is to:

  • provide an independent, external evaluation of the effectiveness of the local area partnership’s arrangements for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)
  • where appropriate, recommend what the local area partnership should do to improve the arrangements.
Inspection outcome

Newham was last inspected on 7 October 2024.

The local area partnership's arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. The local area partnership must work jointly to make improvements.

They were given no areas for priority action.

The next full area SEND inspection will be within approximately 3 years.

Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) ask that the local area partnership updates and publishes its strategic plan based on the recommendations set out in this report.

Data source

Joint targeted area inspection of Newham local authority

The agencies for these inspections can include the police, children’s social care, probation services, education and relevant health services. Inspectors will also evaluate how local agencies work with education and childcare providers. The focus of these inspections is how effectively the local safeguarding partners work together at the practice and strategic levels.

Theme Inspection start date Link
There have been no JTAI inspections for this local authority.

Data source

Ofsted inspection reports and tools


Local authority context

Population 18 and under Number %
Newham 89,057 23.8%
National 12,869,368 22.0%

Data source

Children looked after Number Rate per 10,000
Newham 404 48
National 81,770 67

Data source

School-age pupils eligible for free school meals Number %
Newham 22,600 40.4%
National 2,085,168 26.7%

Data source

School-age pupils eligible for extra funding (pupil premium) Number %
Newham 22,766 41.3%
National 2,266,608 29.3%

Data source

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in state-funded settings Number %
Newham 9,449 14.7%
National 1,766,924 19.6%

Data source

School-age pupils with English as an additional language Number %
Newham 41,918 66.4%
National 1,806,029 21.4%

Data source

% of children in income-deprived families (IDACI) Average %
Newham 60.0%
National 38.0%
Health Index (children and young people) Health Index score
Newham 93.7
National 100.8
More details about the health index metric

Indicates the health of an area measured in three domains: Healthy People, Health Lives and Healthy Places.

A score of 100 represents health in England in 2015. A higher number means better health and a lower number means worse health.

Data source

Remit overview

Contents

Early years

Population Number in Newham % in Newham % National
Aged 0 to 5 years 30,212 8.1% 6.4%
Aged 0 5,502 1.5% 1.0%
Aged 1 5,404 1.4% 1.0%
Aged 2 5,386 1.4% 1.1%
Aged 3 4,730 1.3% 1.1%
Aged 4 4,583 1.2% 1.1%
Aged 5 4,607 1.2% 1.1%

Data source

Disadvantaged Number in Newham % in Newham % National
Early years pupil premium 439 1.5% 3.3%
Children looked after (under 1 year) 26 0.5% 0.6%
Children looked after (1 to 4 years) 49 0.2% 0.4%

Data sources:

Special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) /
Education, health and care plans (EHCP)
Number in Newham % in Newham % National
SEN support in state-funded settings (age 2 and under) 117 0.7% 0.3%
SEN support in state-funded settings (age 3) 354 7.5% 3.7%
SEN support in state-funded settings (age 4) 553 12.1% 9.4%
SEN support in state-funded settings (age 5) 602 13.1% 12.1%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (age 5 and under) 1,626 5.4% 4.5%
Children with an EHCP (age 2 and under) 0 0.0% 0.0%
Children with an EHCP (age 3) 11 0.2% 0.7%
Children with an EHCP (age 4) 76 1.7% 3.5%
Children with an EHCP (age 5) 142 3.1% 4.7%
Total: Children with an EHCP (age 5 and under) 229 0.8% 1.6%

Data sources:

Funded early years places for 2-year-olds Population aged 2-years-old Number of eligible 2-year-olds % of population aged 2 % take-up of funded places
Newham 5,386 1,436 26.7% 70.4%
National 630,059 145,824 23.1% 65.2%

Data source

Funded early years places for 3-year-olds Population aged 3-years-old Number of eligible 3-year-olds % of population aged 3 % take-up of funded places
Newham 4,730 All 3-year olds are eligible 77.7%
National 625,948 90.6%
The 2 and 3-year-old funded places tables look different because they measure different things; funded places for 2-year-olds are only for children considered to be disadvantaged, while for 3-year-olds everyone is entitled to a funded place.

Data source

Children's overweight and obesity Number in Newham % in Newham % National
Children's overweight and obesity (reception-age children) 875 21.0% 23.5%

Data source

Oral health Number examined in Newham % examined in Newham % in Newham % National
Oral health (visible tooth decay in 5-year-olds) 212 4.7% 40.1% 22.4%

Schools

Population Number in Newham % in Newham1 % National1
Primary-age pupils (ages 5 to 11) 31,427 8.4% 8.2%
Secondary-age pupils (ages 12 to 16) 22,857 6.1% 6.2%

Data source

Population of looked-after-children Number in Newham % in Newham1 % National1
Ages 5 to 9 56 0.2% 0.4%
Ages 10 to 15 140 0.5% 0.7%

Data source

Pupils eligible for free schools meals Number in Newham % in Newham2 % National2
Primary 10,748 35.0% 25.3%
Secondary 11,652 47.6% 27.5%
Alternative provision 66 45.8% 64.6%
Special 134 56.8% 49.5%
Non-maintained special 31.0%

Data source

Pupils eligible for pupil premium Number in Newham % in Newham2 % National2
Primary 10,939 34.5% 25.1%
Secondary 11,396 48.7% 28.9%

Data source

Pupils with SEND Number in Newham % in Newham2 % National2
Primary 5,310 16.1% 18.2%
Secondary 3,360 11.8% 16.5%
Alternative provision 80 55.6% 83.4%
Special 293 100.0% 99.9%
Non-maintained special 99.7%
Independent schools 114 9.9% 24.1%

Data source

Pupils with English as an additional language Number in Newham % in Newham2 % National2
Primary 23,876 72.4% 23.4%
Secondary 17,222 60.2% 19.2%
Alternative provision 71 49.3% 7.6%
Special 130 44.4% 14.5%
Non-maintained special 11.0%
Attendance of all pupils up to week 4 of calendar year % in Newham2 % National2
Primary 94.2% 95.0%
Secondary 93.1% 91.8%
Special 81.9% 87.1%

Data source

Attendance of pupils eligible for free school meals (summer term 2024/25) % in Newham2 % National2
Primary 92.9% 91.9%
Secondary 90.7% 85.2%
Special 80.3% 85.1%

Data source

Attendance of pupils with SEND (summer term 2024/25) % in Newham2 % National2
Primary 91.9% 92.1%
Secondary 88.7% 84.3%
Special 87.3%

Data source

Primary attainment: Year 1 phonics screening pass Number in Newham % in Newham2 % National2
All pupils 3,640 82.4% 79.8%
Pupils eligible for free school meals 1,010 77.4% 66.6%
Pupils with SEND 357 47.0% 43.4%
Pupils with English as an additional language 2,513 82.5% 79.5%
Primary attainment: Year 4 times table check (full marks) Number in Newham % in Newham2 % National2
All pupils 2,221 50.5% 36.8%
Pupils eligible for free school meals 860 47.5% 27.4%
Pupils with SEND 232 29.9% 16.5%
Pupils with English as an additional language 1,672 52.4% 45.2%

Data source

Primary attainment: Key stage 2 reading, writing, maths combined (met the expected standard) Number in Newham % in Newham2 % National2
All pupils 3,346 76.4% 62.6%
Pupils eligible for free school meals 1,459 72.8% 47.7%
Pupils with SEND 296 37.2% 23.8%
Pupils with English as an additional language 2,421 77.5% 66.2%

Data source

Secondary attainment: Attainment 8 Average in Newham2 National average2
All pupils 51.1 45.9
Pupils eligible for free school meals 48.3 35.0
Pupils with SEND 31.4 28.1

Data source

Population receiving education outside of their local authority Number outside of Newham % outside of Newham2 % National2
Primary 1,191 4.0% 4.1%
Secondary 1,487 6.3% 8.7%
Special 68 26.1% 9.0%
Children being home educated Number in Newham % in Newham1 % National1
Primary 280 0.9% 0.8%
Secondary 310 1.4% 2.5%
Total 580 1.1% 1.5%
More details about the children being home educated numbers
Local authority data in the source dataset has been rounded to the nearest 10. As a result totals may not equal the sum of their component parts.

Data source

Suspensions (from primary school) Number in Newham Rate per 100 pupils in Newham3 Rate per 100 pupils National3
Total number of suspensions 27 0.1 0.9
Total pupils with one or more suspensions 21 0.1 0.5
Pupils with one or more suspensions who are eligible for free school meals 15 0.2 (in group) 1.2 (in group)
Pupils with one or more suspensions with SEND 17 0.3 (in group) 2.4 (in group)
More details about suspensions from state-funded primary schools and totals not summing
Suspensions data on total number of pupils may not match, as a change in a pupil’s category within the same term results in them being counted separately under each category. For example, if a pupil receives multiple suspensions while classified as not having SEN, and then receives additional suspensions after being reclassified as receiving SEN support during the same term, they will be recorded as two separate enrolments in the data.

Data source

Suspensions (from secondary school) Number in Newham Rate per 100 pupils in Newham3 Rate per 100 pupils National3
Total number of suspensions 707 2.5 7.8
Total pupils with one or more suspensions 531 1.8 3.8
Pupils with one or more suspensions who are eligible for free school meals 317 2.6 (in group) 8.2 (in group)
Pupils with one or more suspensions with SEND 173 5.2 (in group) 9.1 (in group)
More details about suspensions from state-funded secondary schools and totals not summing
Suspensions data on total number of pupils may not match, as a change in a pupil’s category within the same term results in them being counted separately under each category. For example, if a pupil receives multiple suspensions while classified as not having SEN, and then receives additional suspensions after being reclassified as receiving SEN support during the same term, they will be recorded as two separate enrolments in the data.

Data source

Suspensions (from special school) Number in Newham Rate per 100 pupils in Newham3 Rate per 100 pupils National3
Total number of suspensions 27 9.2 5.1
Total pupils with one or more suspensions 20 6.8 2.9
Pupils with one or more suspensions who are eligible for free school meals 14 8.0 (in group) 4.1 (in group)
Pupils with one or more suspensions with SEND 20 6.8 (in group) 2.9 (in group)
More details about suspensions from state-funded special schools and totals not summing
Suspensions data on total number of pupils may not match, as a change in a pupil’s category within the same term results in them being counted separately under each category. For example, if a pupil receives multiple suspensions while classified as not having SEN, and then receives additional suspensions after being reclassified as receiving SEN support during the same term, they will be recorded as two separate enrolments in the data.

Data source

Exclusions (from primary school) Number in Newham % in Newham2 % National2
Total number of pupils excluded 0 0.0% 0.0%
Pupils eligible for free school meals 0 0.0% 0.0%
Pupils with SEND 0 0.0% 0.1%

Data source

Exclusions (from secondary school) Number in Newham % in Newham2 % National2
Total number of pupils excluded 11 0.0% 0.1%
Pupils eligible for free school meals 5 0.0% 0.2%
Pupils with SEND 4 0.1% 0.3%

Data source

Exclusions (from special school) Number in Newham % in Newham2 % National2
Total number of pupils excluded 0 0.0% 0.0%
Pupils eligible for free school meals 0 0.0% 0.0%
Pupils with SEND 0 0.0% 0.0%

1. % of all children in Newham / England.

2. % of all pupils in state-funded settings across Newham / England.

3. Rate per 100 pupils in state-funded settings across Newham / England.

Further education and skills

Population Number in Newham % in Newham % National
Aged 16 to 18 years 13,912 3.7% 3.6%
Aged 19 to 21 years 16,784 4.5% 3.6%
Aged 22 to 24 years 24,010 6.4% 3.6%
Aged 25 years and over 244,672 65.3% 70.8%

Data source

Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) Number in Newham % in Newham % National
16- to 17-year-olds known to LA 9,789 2.5% 2.4%
NEET 273 2.8% 3.4%
Activity not known 139 1.4% 2.2%
Total NEET or activity not known 411 4.2% 5.6%

Data source

16 to 18 progression to higher education or training % in Newham % National
Degrees (all) 79.0% 66.0%
Degrees at top third higher education institutions 42.0% 24.0%
Higher apprenticeships 2.0% 2.0%
Other study at level 4 and 5 2.0% 3.0%
Progressing to higher education or training 83.0% 70.0%
More details about the further education and skills destinations data

This data reflects the destinations of pupils based on the number on roll when they were aged 16 to 18, tracking where they progressed after completing their studies.

Degree destinations include any study at level 6 or higher such as bachelor degrees, graduate diplomas, and post-graduate degrees. The top third higher education institutions when ranked by average UCAS tariff score of entrants across their best 3 A levels.

Higher apprenticeships are those from level 4 to 7 and are equivalent to a foundation degree and above. Degree apprenticeships are available at levels 6 and 7.

Other study at level 4 or 5 destinations include those students studying qualifications such as foundation degrees, Higher National Certificates (HNCs) and Higher National Diplomas (HNDs).

Data source

Social care

Explore the findings from Ofsted's local authority inspections.

Explore population characteristics for this local authority.