Tabor Academy

Tabor Academy is a caring and inclusive school where pupils feel safe, valued and well supported. The quality of education, inclusion, personal development and post-16 provision are all judged to be of the expected standard, with particular strengths in pastoral care, SEND support and a broad enrichment offer. Pupils behave well and benefit from positive relationships with staff. However, achievement, attendance and leadership are areas that need attention. Published outcomes show sustained underperformance, particularly for disadvantaged pupils, and persistent absence remains high for vulnerable groups. Recent changes in governance and leadership have brought greater focus, but the impact of improvement work is not yet consistently evident and needs time to embed.

Strengths

• Inclusive culture where pupils feel safe, valued and cared for, and are treated with respect
• Strong pastoral support and positive staff-pupil relationships that contribute to a caring environment
• Well-established and effective systems to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities
• Broad and coherently planned curriculum with clear sequencing across subjects
• Wide range of enrichment opportunities, trips and careers guidance that support pupils' wider development
• Comprehensive and well-planned careers education that supports informed decision-making and sustained destinations
• Calm and orderly classrooms with consistently polite and cooperative pupil conduct
• Effective support for staff wellbeing and high staff morale, with positive views of leadership
• Targeted and evidence-informed professional development, particularly for early career teachers
• Effective use of alternative provision and constructive partnerships with external agencies to support vulnerable pupils

Areas for Improvement

• Sustained underperformance in published outcomes, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and vulnerable groups
• Variability in achievement across subjects and pupil groups, with some pupils not mastering the basics
• Some reading, writing and mathematical knowledge is not consistently secure for all pupils
• Staff do not always check whether all pupils have understood the work, limiting opportunities for deeper thinking and independent application
• Overall attendance remains below national figures and persistent absence is high, especially for vulnerable groups
• The impact of attendance strategies is not yet sustained or measurable
• Governance and leadership have not consistently provided sufficient challenge, support and intervention to address declining outcomes and attendance
• The pace of improvement prior to recent governance changes was too slow, and current actions need time to embed
• The impact of quality assurance and improvement actions is not yet consistently evident
• Destinations after 16 are below national averages

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 Tabor Academy attended 88.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 32.3% 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, 10.5% of pupils at Tabor Academy 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 Tabor Academy had 15.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.2% 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, 18.5% of pupils at Tabor Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.8% 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 Tabor Academy received £7,903 and spent £7,879 for each of its 969 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £586,000 (£604 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Loxford School Trust Limited, income was £7,812 and spending £7,808 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 Braintree · Essex local authority: places and applications

Tabor Academy is part of Loxford School Trust Limited, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Cecil Jones Academy Southend-On-Sea
• Gaynes School Upminster
• Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College Hornchurch
• The Warren School Romford
• Aldborough Primary School Ilford
• Loxford School Ilford

What is Tabor Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Tabor Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Tabor Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Tabor Academy was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Tabor Academy have?

Tabor Academy has 989 pupils on roll.

What age range does Tabor Academy cover?

Tabor Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Tabor Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 38.5, and 32% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Tabor Academy?

Tabor Academy is at Panfield Lane, Braintree, Essex, CM7 5XP.