Ben Jonson Primary School
Ben Jonson Primary School is a community school in Tower Hamlets for pupils aged 3 to 11. It has 591 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for Ben Jonson Primary School is Good, from an inspection in April 2024. In 2025, 72% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.
Ofsted inspection: April 2024. KS2 results: 2025.
| Type | Primary / Community school |
| Age Range | 3-11 |
| Religion | Does not apply |
| Address | Harford Street Stepney London E1 4PZ |
| Phone | 02077904110 |
| Reference Number | 100890 |
General Makeup
| Number of pupils | 591 |
| Boy/Girl ratio |
Boys: 51.61%
Girls: 48.39% |
| Percentage of students eligible for free school meals | 40.8% |
| Percentage of students where English is not their first language | 34.7% |
Class Sizes
| Average size of one teacher classes | 25.2 |
| Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher | 26.6 |
| Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher | 25.8 |
Year Groups
| Year | Boys | Girls | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40 | 49 | 89 |
| 2 | 38 | 34 | 72 |
| 3 | 42 | 38 | 80 |
| 4 | 51 | 34 | 85 |
| 5 | 41 | 38 | 79 |
| 6 | 38 | 28 | 66 |
Ethnicities
| Ethnicity | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Mixed, Other | 4.7% |
| White, Other | 1.5% |
| African | 1.5% |
| Pakistani | 1.4% |
| White, British | 1% |
| White & Asian | 0.7% |
| Indian | 0.5% |
| White & Black (Caribbean) | 0.2% |
| Asian, Other | 0.2% |
Ben Jonson Primary School is performing well overall, with a Good rating in most areas and Outstanding behaviour and attitudes. The school has nurtured a welcoming and inclusive environment where staff knows the pupils well, resulting in strong support and a positive culture. Leaders have developed an ambitious curriculum that builds on pupils' knowledge, ensuring high expectations for all students, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). However, there are some areas for improvement in teaching methods to address misconceptions more systematically to enhance students' readiness for new learning.
| Overall Ofsted Rating | Good |
| > Quality of education | Good |
| > Behaviour & Attitude | Outstanding |
| > Personal Development | Outstanding |
| > Leadership & Management | Good |
| > Early Years Provision | Good |
| Last Report Date | 20 Feb 2024 |
| Date | Report |
|---|---|
| 20 Feb 2024 | School inspection: |
| 31 Oct 2017 | Full inspection: |
| 13 Nov 2012 | Full inspection: |
| 16 Jun 2011 | Monitoring visit |
| 14 Jan 2010 | Full inspection: |
| 24 Apr 2007 | Full inspection: |
| 19 Nov 2001 | Full inspection |
Strengths
- Strong relationships between staff and pupils.
- Effective support for SEND pupils.
- High expectations from leaders.
- Outstanding behaviour during lessons and around the school.
- Broad range of extracurricular activities.
- Ambitious curriculum in line with national standards.
- Thorough personal development programme.
- Strong emphasis on reading and phonics.
Areas for Improvement
- Occasional failure to identify and clarify pupils' misunderstandings.
How many students meet the standards
| Reading, Writing & Maths | School Score | Percentile (local) | Percentile (nationwide) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils meeting the expected standard | 72% | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment |
| Pupils meeting a higher standard | 18% | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment |
Average Scaled Score
Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.
| Subject | School | Percentile (local) | Percentile (nationwide) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 108 | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment |
| Maths | 109 | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment |
Progress Scores
A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.
| Metric | School Score | Percentile (local) | Percentile (nationwide) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | -1 | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment |
| Writing | 1.2 | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment |
| Maths | 0.8 | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment |
How many students meet the standards
Sample
UnlockAverage Scaled Score
Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.
Sample
UnlockProgress Scores
A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.
Sample
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See how Ben Jonson Primary School ranks locally and nationally. Percentile rankings against every other school, historic result charts, admissions data and post-GCSE destinations are all included.
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Unlock for £9.99Reception admissions, 2026 entry
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| Number of Applications | Number of Offers | |
| First Preference | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment | Locked: unlock for £9.99, one-off payment |
| Second Preference | 16 | 2 |
| Third Preference | 11 | 0 |
| From another Local Authority | 3 | 1 |
Previous years
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UnlockPlaces and pupil numbers
In 2024–25 Ben Jonson Primary School had 559 pupils for 630 places. 71 places (11.3%) were unfilled.
Pupils and places
Reception intake in the “Tower Hamlets Primary: Stepney” planning area
Tower Hamlets counted 613 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 538 in 2029–30, down 12%.
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Places | 450 | 450 | 510 | 630 | 630 | 630 | 630 | 630 | 630 | 630 | 630 | 630 | 630 | 630 | 630 |
| Pupils | 441 | 465 | 503 | 532 | 562 | 593 | 621 | 617 | 613 | 612 | 589 | 602 | 586 | 577 | 559 |
| Unfilled | 2.0% | 0.0% | 1.4% | 15.6% | 10.8% | 5.9% | 1.4% | 2.1% | 2.7% | 2.9% | 6.5% | 4.4% | 7.0% | 8.4% | 11.3% |
Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.
In 2024–25 pupils at Ben Jonson Primary School attended 94.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.1% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).
Sessions missed
Pupils persistently absent
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authorised absence | 3.4% | 3.2% | 4.0% | 3.5% | 3.4% | 3.6% | 3.3% | 4.9% | 5.8% | 5.0% | 4.6% |
| Unauthorised absence | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.2% | 1.1% | 1.7% | 1.1% | 1.0% |
| Severely absent pupils | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.7% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1.3% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.
In 2024–25, 0.3% of pupils at Ben Jonson Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.
Pupils suspended at least once
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspensions per 100 pupils | 0.0 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Permanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.
In 2025–26 Ben Jonson Primary School had 18.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 35.3% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).
Pupils per teacher
Teachers who left the school within a year
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils per adult | 8.1 | 7.7 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 7.2 | 8.8 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 7.6 |
| Teachers who left state teaching | 9.7% | 5.8% | 13.2% | 12.2% | 11.2% | 5.5% | 9.3% | 6.1% | 10.5% | 5.7% | 8.3% | 22.0% | 9.6% | 18.8% | 28.8% | – |
| Teachers who took any sick leave | 83.3% | 63.9% | 77.8% | 69.2% | 76.3% | 64.9% | 70.7% | 56.8% | 47.4% | – | 86.1% | 79.5% | 73.5% | 60.6% | 61.8% | – |
| Sick days per teacher | 3.7 | 5.8 | 13.3 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.2 | – | 8.9 | 6.4 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 11.6 | – |
Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.
In 2025–26, 17.9% of pupils at Ben Jonson Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 8.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).
Pupils by main type of need
| SEN support | EHC plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Speech, language and communication needs | 58 | 28 |
| No specialist assessment of need | 29 | 0 |
| Social, emotional and mental health | 15 | 2 |
| Autistic spectrum disorder | 2 | 9 |
| Moderate learning difficulty | 0 | 5 |
| Specific learning difficulty | 0 | 3 |
| Other difficulty or disability | 0 | 2 |
| Physical disability | 1 | 1 |
| Hearing impairment | 1 | 0 |
| Severe learning difficulty | 0 | 1 |
| Vision impairment | 0 | 1 |
Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.
In 2025–26 Ben Jonson Primary School received £10,815 and spent £10,706 for each of its 576 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £942,000 (£1,635 per pupil).
Income per pupil
Spending per pupil
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue reserve | £616,000 | £381,000 | £88,000 | £22,000 | £188,000 | £781,000 | £879,000 | £942,000 |
| per pupil | £1,006 | £648 | £153 | £35 | £293 | £1,262 | £1,434 | £1,635 |
| In-year balance | £46,000 | -£235,000 | -£293,000 | -£66,000 | £165,000 | £593,000 | £98,000 | £63,000 |
| per pupil | £75 | -£399 | -£508 | -£102 | £258 | £958 | £160 | £109 |
Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).
| Name | Distance |
|
Solebay Primary - A Paradigm Academy
11 Solebay Street, London, E1 4PW |
0.11 miles |
|
Halley Primary School
Halley Street, London, E14 7SS |
0.21 miles |
|
Cayley Primary School
Aston Street, Stepney, London, E14 7NG |
0.35 miles |
|
Alice Model Nursery School
14 Beaumont Grove, London, E1 4NQ |
0.35 miles |
|
St Paul With St Luke CofE Primary Federation
Leopold Street, Bow, London, E3 4LA |
0.48 miles |
|
Sir William Burrough Primary School
Salmon Lane, Limehouse, London, E14 7PQ |
0.53 miles |
|
Stepney Greencoat Church of England Primary School
Norbiton Road, Limehouse, Garnet Street, London, E14 7TF |
0.55 miles |
|
The Hamlet School
Brunton Place, London, E14 7LL |
0.55 miles |
|
Stepney Park Primary School
Smithy Street, Stepney, London, E1 3BW |
0.57 miles |
|
Marion Richardson Primary School
Senrab Street, London, E1 0QF |
0.59 miles |
|
John Scurr Primary School
Cephas Street, Stepney Green, London, E1 4AX |
0.6 miles |
|
Malmesbury Primary School
Coborn Street, Bow, London, E3 2AB |
0.61 miles |
|
Stebon Primary School
Burdett Estate, Wallwood Street, Poplar, London, E14 7AD |
0.62 miles |
|
Bangabandhu Primary School
Wessex Street, Bethnal Green, London, E2 0LB |
0.67 miles |
|
Olga Primary School
Lanfranc Road, Bow, London, E3 5DN |
0.68 miles |
|
Wellington Primary School
Wellington Way, Bow, London, E3 4NE |
0.7 miles |
|
Bonner Primary School
Stainsbury Street, Bethnal Green, London, E2 0NF |
0.74 miles |
|
Globe Primary School
Gawber Street, Bethnal Green, London, E2 0JH |
0.78 miles |
|
St Mary and St Michael Primary School
Sutton Street, Stepney, London, E1 0BD |
0.8 miles |
|
The Clara Grant Primary School
Knapp Road, Bow, London, E3 4BU |
0.81 miles |
| Name | Distance |
|
Mulberry Stepney Green Mathematics and Computing College
Ben Jonson Road, Stepney, London, E1 4SD |
0.26 miles |
|
Mazahirul Uloom London School
241-243 Mile End Road, Stepney, London, E1 4AA |
0.27 miles |
|
Beatrice Tate School
41 Southern Grove, Mile End, London, E3 4PX |
0.4 miles |
|
Stepney All Saints Church of England Secondary School
Stepney Way, Stepney, London, E1 0RH |
0.4 miles |
|
Morpeth School
Portman Place, Bethnal Green, London, E2 0PX |
0.55 miles |
|
Central Foundation Girls' School
Bow Road, London, E3 2AE |
0.61 miles |
|
St Paul's Way Trust School
125 St Paul's Way, London, E3 4FT |
0.62 miles |
|
Phoenix School
49 Bow Road, London, E3 2AD |
0.68 miles |
|
Darul Hadis Latifiah
1 Cornwall Avenue, London, E2 0HW |
0.75 miles |
|
Bishop Challoner Catholic School
352 Commercial Road, London, E1 0LB |
0.76 miles |
|
London Islamic School
18-22 Damien Street, London, E1 2HX |
0.85 miles |
|
Swanlea School
31 Brady Street, Whitechapel, London, E1 5DJ |
0.92 miles |
|
Mulberry School for Girls
Richard Street, Commercial Road, London, E1 2JP |
1.02 miles |
|
Jamiatul Ummah School
56 Bigland Street, Shadwell, London, E1 2ND |
1.04 miles |
|
Wapping High School
153 Commercial Road, London, Not applicable, E1 2DA |
1.05 miles |
|
Mulberry UTC
64 Parnell Road, London, E3 2RU |
1.07 miles |
|
Madani Secondary Girls' School
Myrdle Street, London, E1 1HL |
1.11 miles |
|
Ian Mikardo High School
60 William Guy Gardens, Talwin Street, London, E3 3LF |
1.13 miles |
|
Oaklands School
Old Bethnal Green Road, Bethnal Green, London, E2 6PR |
1.14 miles |
|
London Enterprise Academy
81-91 Commercial Road, Whitechapel, Tower Hamlets, London, E1 1RD |
1.19 miles |
All schools in Tower Hamlets · Tower Hamlets local authority: places and applications
What is Ben Jonson Primary School's Ofsted rating?
The latest Ofsted rating for Ben Jonson Primary School is Good, from an inspection in April 2024.
When was Ben Jonson Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?
Ben Jonson Primary School was last inspected in April 2024.
How many pupils does Ben Jonson Primary School have?
Ben Jonson Primary School has 591 pupils on roll.
What age range does Ben Jonson Primary School cover?
Ben Jonson Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.
What are Ben Jonson Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?
In 2025, 72% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.
Where is Ben Jonson Primary School?
Ben Jonson Primary School is at Harford Street, Stepney, London, E1 4PZ.