Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow

Stewards Academy is currently rated as requiring improvement overall, with notable areas in need of focus. The inspection highlighted that while the personal development of students is good, the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, as well as leadership and management, fell short of expectations. There are well-developed extracurricular opportunities for students, but inconsistency in curriculum delivery and behaviour management has been concerning. Effective support for students with special educational needs is also lacking in some instances, affecting their learning outcomes.

Strengths

• Pupils have access to a broad range of extracurricular activities.
• The personal, social and health education curriculum prepares pupils well for adulthood.
• Staff support pupils in improving reading skills effectively.
• The school is proactive in supporting pupil attendance and well-being.
• Leaders have clear expectations and are making improvements to the school's policies.

Areas for Improvement

• The curriculum is not consistently taught well, impacting pupil learning.
• Some teachers lack sufficient training leading to disengaging lessons.
• Pupils do not consistently apply respectful behaviour towards each other.
• Staff do not consistently enforce high behavioural expectations.
• Some leaders do not effectively analyze the impact of their actions on pupil outcomes.

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 Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow attended 88.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 33.3% 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, 19.5% of pupils at Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 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 Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow had 15.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.8% 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, 18.7% of pupils at Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.9% 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 2023–24 Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow received £7,960 and spent £8,496 for each of its 999 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,316,000 (£1,317 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of The Passmores Co-Operative Learning Community, income was £7,431 and spending £7,601 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 Harlow · Essex local authority: places and applications

Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow is part of The Passmores Co-Operative Learning Community, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Pear Tree Mead Academy Harlow
• The Downs Primary School and Nursery Harlow
• Purford Green Primary School Harlow
• Passmores Academy Harlow
• Potter Street Academy Harlow

What is Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow last inspected by Ofsted?

Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow have?

Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow has 978 pupils on roll.

What age range does Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow cover?

Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 40.1, and 29% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow?

Stewards Academy - Science Specialist, Harlow is at Parnall Road, Harlow, Essex, CM18 7NQ.