Lammas School

Lammas School is a smaller-than-average secondary school in a deprived area and is part of Griffin Schools Trust. This was a full section 5 inspection. Safeguarding standards are met. The school has a calm, orderly and welcoming culture, and both attendance and behaviour have improved. Pupils feel safe and well supported, and inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing are generally secure. Leaders have an accurate view of the school, trust and governance support are effective, and staff wellbeing is prioritised. Pupils benefit from strong personal development, careers education, relationships and sex education, and a broad enrichment offer that is becoming more inclusive. However, pupils do not achieve as well as they could. Achievement and curriculum and teaching are the main areas needing improvement. Attainment and progress have remained below national averages over several years, and disadvantaged pupils' progress is also below national averages. Some pupils struggle to recall earlier learning and to write accurately at length. Curriculum quality and teaching are uneven across subjects, with some plans lacking clarity about key knowledge, too few opportunities to practise and discuss learning, and errors not always addressed. Adaptive teaching and SEND adaptations are not consistently embedded. Leaders are addressing these issues with urgency, and recent work in reading and staff training is beginning to show impact. The next steps focus on securing consistent implementation of the agreed teaching approach across all subjects and phases, embedding inclusion strategies, and better supporting pupils who are still developing foundational skills in English and writing. Persistent absence remains above national levels, so attendance must remain a priority. The sixth form has closed since the last inspection.

Strengths

• Calm, orderly and welcoming school environment with consistently applied routines.
• Pupils feel safe, behave politely and report that unkind behaviour or bullying is dealt with promptly.
• Attendance strategies are purposeful and overall attendance has improved.
• Inclusion is secure, with additional needs identified accurately and quickly.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND receive effective support.
• Leaders and governors have an accurate, honest understanding of the school's strengths and areas for improvement.
• Trust support has strengthened assessment, early identification and staff training.
• Staff wellbeing is prioritised; staff feel valued and workload is manageable.
• Personal development and wellbeing are well promoted through PSHE, assemblies and themed days.
• Relationships and sex education is well planned, age appropriate and develops pupils' understanding of healthy relationships and safety.
• Careers education is coherent, carefully sequenced and gives pupils confidence about next steps.
• Enrichment opportunities are broad, and participation is increasingly inclusive.
• Reading and language support helps pupils new to English and those with phonics or vocabulary gaps to gain confidence.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement across year groups and subjects is not secure.
• Pupils' attainment and progress have remained below national averages in examinations over several years.
• Disadvantaged pupils' progress remains below national averages.
• Some pupils struggle to recall earlier learning and to write accurately at length.
• Curriculum quality and teaching are uneven across subjects.
• In some subjects, curriculum plans do not clearly identify the key knowledge pupils must learn and when.
• Pupils do not have sufficient opportunities to discuss and practise new learning.
• Errors in writing and spelling are not addressed quickly or consistently enough.
• Adaptive teaching and SEND adaptations are not consistently embedded in teaching approaches.
• Pupils are not fully ready for the next stage of their learning because success is not routine or consistent.
• Persistent absence remains above the national average and attendance must remain a priority.

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 Lammas School attended 91.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 29.6% 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, 6.3% of pupils at Lammas School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 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 Lammas School had 13.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 28.7% 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, 11.0% of pupils at Lammas School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.5% 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 Lammas School received £12,266 and spent £13,376 for each of its 574 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £713,000 (-£1,242 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of The Griffin Schools Trust, income was £7,909 and spending £8,064 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 Waltham Forest · Waltham Forest local authority: places and applications

Lammas School is part of The Griffin Schools Trust, which runs 13 schools. The nearest others:

• Willow Brook Primary School Academy London
• Riverley Primary School London
• Saxon Way Primary School Gillingham
• Kingfisher Community Primary School Chatham
• Lordswood School Chatham
• Nicholas Chamberlaine School Bedworth
• Exhall Junior School Warwickshire
• Race Leys Junior School Bedworth
• Park Lane Primary School Nuneaton
• Chivenor Primary School Birmingham

What is Lammas School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Lammas School last inspected by Ofsted?

Lammas School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Lammas School have?

Lammas School has 462 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lammas School cover?

Lammas School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Lammas School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 41.0, and 36% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Lammas School?

Lammas School is at 150 Seymour Road, Leyton, London, E10 7LX.