Bower Park Academy

Bower Park Academy is performing well overall, achieving a 'Good' rating in all assessed areas, including the quality of education, behavior, personal development, and leadership. The school promotes a respectful and supportive environment where pupils feel safe and engaged. The curriculum has been broadened to include new subjects, which has been positively received by students. However, published examination outcomes currently do not reflect the school's high aspirations for academic achievement, particularly impacting pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This is an important context as the school works under the Empower Learning Academy Trust and has implemented changes in leadership since the last inspection.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy a respectful rapport with staff.
• The school has high aspirations for academic achievement.
• Curriculum improvements are in place that cater to SEND pupils.
• Teachers provide targeted support for reading.
• Leaders cultivate a positive culture and collaborative staff environment.
• Pupils participate in committees that allow their voices to be heard.

Areas for Improvement

• Examination results remain significantly below national averages.
• Teaching does not consistently address gaps in pupils' learning.
• Behaviour management approach is not implemented uniformly by all staff.

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 Bower Park Academy attended 89.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 32.2% 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, 11.0% of pupils at Bower Park Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 7 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 Bower Park Academy had 13.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.7% 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, 13.0% of pupils at Bower Park Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 6.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has a SEN unit with 5 pupils.

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 Bower Park Academy received £10,044 and spent £9,646 for each of its 1,019 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £287,000 (£282 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of Empower Learning Academy Trust, income was £8,935 and spending £9,029 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 Havering · Havering local authority: places and applications

Bower Park Academy is part of Empower Learning Academy Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Ardleigh Green Junior School Hornchurch
• Ardleigh Green Infant School Hornchurch
• Hacton Primary School Hornchurch
• Hall Mead School Upminster
• The Brittons Academy Rainham

What is Bower Park Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bower Park Academy is Good, from an inspection in October 2023.

When was Bower Park Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Bower Park Academy was last inspected in October 2023.

How many pupils does Bower Park Academy have?

Bower Park Academy has 965 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bower Park Academy cover?

Bower Park Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Bower Park Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.1, and 34% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Bower Park Academy?

Bower Park Academy is at Havering Road, Romford, Essex, RM1 4YY.