The Edith Borthwick School

The Edith Borthwick School is a special school in Braintree, Essex, for pupils with severe learning difficulties and profound and multiple learning difficulties, all of whom have an education, health and care plan. Following a full section 5 inspection in January 2026, the school is judged to be fulfilling the expected standard across all evaluated areas: achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, leadership and governance, personal development and wellbeing, and post-16 provision. Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture of safeguarding. The inspection took place during a period of leadership transition, with an interim headteacher having been in post for one week and the substantive headteacher on a two-year secondment to the local authority but present for the inspection.

Strengths

• Personalised targets linked to education, health and care plans help pupils achieve well over time
• Post-16 students move on to destinations that match their needs, including specialist college courses and adult social care day provision
• Leaders and staff have created a calm and caring culture that supports positive behaviour
• Staff model kindness and respect, helping pupils feel safe, understood and ready to learn
• The curriculum prioritises communication and emotional management, with personalised learning linked to education, health and care plan goals
• Teaching is particularly effective for pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties, helping them develop early communication skills
• Leaders gather detailed information during admissions and use education, health and care plans effectively to put appropriate support in place
• Speech and language therapists and occupational therapists work closely with staff to shape teaching
• Leaders provide calm, steady leadership and value staff, taking workload seriously
• The governing body fulfils statutory duties and maintains a strong culture of safeguarding
• Pupils enjoy rich experiences that build pride and community connection, such as eco council and school council activities
• Pastoral support is well organised and makes a real difference, especially for disadvantaged pupils and their families
• An expanding extra-curricular offer gives most pupils opportunities to try new things and succeed
• Students in post-16 receive clear, impartial careers guidance and take on responsibilities enthusiastically

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils who can write sometimes struggle to do so independently because task demands do not fully align with their communication or phonics knowledge
• The approach to attendance support does not define clearly enough how leaders will measure the impact of the support in place
• Occasionally, activities do not match the curriculum or pupils' needs closely enough, leaving pupils unsure and overly reliant on adult support
• Leaders do not always monitor the impact of pupil premium funding closely enough
• Improvement planning is not always as sharp as it could be, with success criteria not consistently clear
• Governors' challenge is not sharply focused on next steps, so some issues, such as financial oversight, take longer than necessary to resolve
• Some planned activities in post-16 do not link closely enough to curriculum aims or what students need to learn next
• Leaders should ensure that teachers support pupils to build securely on their prior learning
• Leaders should manage part-time timetables more effectively, setting clear goals for timely review and prompt return to full-time education
• Leaders should refine strategic planning, including the pupil premium strategy, by using clear measures to judge impact
• Governors should strengthen and formalise their approaches to checking and challenge so that priorities lead to clear actions and sharper accountability

In 2024–25 pupils at The Edith Borthwick School attended 89.5% of sessions (the national figure for special schools was 87.2%). 32.6% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 35.3%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

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, 2.5% of pupils at The Edith Borthwick School were suspended at least once (nationally 5.1%). One pupil was permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

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 The Edith Borthwick School had 9.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for special schools was 6.6). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.5%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

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 The Edith Borthwick School had 243 pupils, 99.6% of them with an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 99.5%).

It says it provides for: specific learning difficulty; moderate learning difficulty; severe learning difficulty; profound and multiple learning difficulty; speech, language and communication needs; hearing impairment; vision impairment; multi-sensory impairment; autistic spectrum disorder.

Pupils by main type of need

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 special school schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 The Edith Borthwick School received £25,699 and spent £26,233 for each of its 243 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £374,000 (£1,540 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Braintree · Essex local authority: places and applications

What is The Edith Borthwick School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Edith Borthwick School is Expected standard, from an inspection in March 2026.

When was The Edith Borthwick School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Edith Borthwick School was last inspected in March 2026.

How many pupils does The Edith Borthwick School have?

The Edith Borthwick School has 243 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Edith Borthwick School cover?

The Edith Borthwick School for pupils aged 3 to 19.

What are The Edith Borthwick School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 0% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is The Edith Borthwick School?

The Edith Borthwick School is at Enterprise Drive, Braintree, Essex, CM7 2YN.