Harefield School

After joining Partnership Learning in 2024 under a new headteacher, Harefield School has made clear improvements and is now a calm, caring and purposeful school. Safeguarding is met, and most areas of provision are at the expected standard. Pupils enjoy school, feel safe, and benefit from positive behaviour routines, strong pastoral care and a wide personal development programme. Leadership and governance are effective, with the trust providing support and challenge that has helped drive improvement. Inclusion is a notable strength: pupils with SEND settle in well and receive tailored support, and the pupil premium strategy has improved disadvantaged pupils' attendance, literacy and extra-curricular participation. Attendance has improved through breakfast provision and rewards, but it remains below national averages. The sixth form is small, supportive and inclusive, with outcomes close to national averages and improving over time. The main concerns are achievement and curriculum/teaching. Pupils make inconsistent progress, and GCSE attainment and progress have been significantly below national averages in recent years. Teaching does not consistently check understanding or adapt activities, so gaps in learning persist. Careers guidance is flagged as needing attention. Leaders have a clear plan and staff training is underway, but further work is needed to embed highly effective teaching across the school so all pupils achieve well.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe, valued and part of a warm, caring school community.
• Behaviour is calm and purposeful, with rare disruption and effective responses to bullying.
• Attendance strategies, including breakfast provision and rewards, have improved punctuality and reduced persistent absence.
• Pupils with SEND are well supported to settle in and access learning.
• Leaders identify pupils' needs quickly and share information with staff.
• The personal development programme is well constructed and promotes a harmonious community.
• Comprehensive pastoral support includes form tutors, mentors and a school counsellor.
• Extra-curricular activities and educational visits have increased, with participation monitored for disadvantaged and SEND pupils.
• Leadership and governance are effective, with clear improvement actions since the trust took over.
• Staff training is evidence-informed and beginning to improve classroom practice.
• The pupil premium strategy has had a positive impact on disadvantaged pupils' attendance, literacy and extra-curricular involvement.
• The sixth form is supportive, inclusive and offers flexible pathways with improving outcomes.
• Post-16 students benefit from a structured careers programme and good progression support.
• Most pupils move on successfully to education, employment or training.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils make inconsistent progress through the curriculum.
• GCSE attainment and progress have been significantly below national averages in recent years.
• Teaching does not consistently check understanding or correct misconceptions, so gaps persist.
• Some lesson activities do not support pupils to learn the intended curriculum content.
• The curriculum is not taught consistently well across all subjects.
• Pupils with SEND also experience inconsistent progress in the classroom.
• Attendance and persistent absence remain above national averages, despite improvement.
• Disadvantaged pupils' GCSE outcomes and progress remain below national averages.
• Careers guidance is flagged as needing attention.

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 Harefield School attended 87.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 41.6% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 22.0% of pupils at Harefield School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No pupils were 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 Harefield School had 13.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.1% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 22.0% of pupils at Harefield School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 8.4% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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

In 2024–25 Harefield School received £12,885 and spent £14,864 for each of its 254 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £338,000 (£1,332 per pupil).

Across all 18 schools of Partnership Learning, income was £9,377 and spending £9,407 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Hillingdon · Hillingdon local authority: places and applications

Harefield School is part of Partnership Learning, which runs 20 schools. The nearest others:

• Northwood School Northwood
• Coteford Junior School Pinner
• Queensmead School Ruislip
• George Mitchell School London
• Greatfields Primary School Barking
• Greatfields School Barking
• Eastbury Primary School Barking
• Thames View Junior School Barking
• Riverside Primary School Barking
• Riverside School Barking

What is Harefield School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Harefield School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Harefield School last inspected by Ofsted?

Harefield School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Harefield School have?

Harefield School has 287 pupils on roll.

What age range does Harefield School cover?

Harefield School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Harefield School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 33.8, and 13% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Harefield School?

Harefield School is at Northwood Way, Harefield, Uxbridge, UB9 6ET.