SCHOOL PROFILE

Thomas Arnold Primary School, Rowdowns Road

Primary Community school URN 101220
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 476 Published school capacity
Capacity used 95.4% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

14 March 2024
Latest published outcome School remains Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Community school
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Does not apply
Local authority Barking and Dagenham
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 454 430 full-time · 24 part-time
Female pupils 208 45.8% of pupils
Male pupils 246 54.2% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

25.6%
0.8 pts above England
School 25.6%
Barking and Dagenham 26.4%
London 26.3%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

66.5%
46.2 pts above England
School 66.5%
Barking and Dagenham 48.5%
London 39.2%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.2%
0.8 pts below England
School 0.2%
Barking and Dagenham 0.8%
London 0.5%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
28.0%
127
Bangladeshi
18.1%
82
African
15.0%
68
Any other White background
13.4%
61
Pakistani
8.4%
38
Any other Asian background
3.5%
16
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 32.8% 149 of 454 pupils
12.0 pts above England England: 20.8%
School 32.8%
Barking and Dagenham 18.4%
London 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 20.3% 92 pupils
England 14.8% 5.5 pts above
EHC plans 12.6% 57 pupils
England 6.0% 6.5 pts above
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder 73
Speech, language & communication 45
Moderate learning difficulty 22
Social, emotional & mental health 6
Hearing impairment 1
Other difficulty or disability 1

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

73.0% 12.6 pts above England
School 73.0%
Barking and Dagenham 64.9%
London 67.9%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

86.0%

12.2 pts above England

School 86.0%
Barking and Dagenham 76.0%
London 78.2%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

73.0%

2.7 pts above England

School 73.0%
Barking and Dagenham 72.2%
London 75.1%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

84.0%

12.0 pts above England

School 84.0%
Barking and Dagenham 75.0%
London 77.7%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

5.60%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

0.62 pts lower than England
School 5.60%
Barking and Dagenham 6.41%
London 6.38%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

19.02%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

3.21 pts higher than England
School 19.02%
Barking and Dagenham 17.96%
London 17.60%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

1.03%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

0.78 pts lower than England
School 1.03%
Barking and Dagenham 1.81%
London 1.67%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

95.4% 7.2 pts above England
Thomas Arnold Primary School, Rowdowns Road
95.4%
Barking and Dagenham
83.4%
London
85.9%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information