Cambian Great Dunmow School, Essex
Cambian Great Dunmow School is a special school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Essex. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in September 2025.
- Ofsted
- Good (2025)
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Cambian Great Dunmow School in detail
Cambian Great Dunmow School in its own words
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, rugby, cricket, cooking, gardening, Duke of Edinburgh, forest school and cheerleading.
Source: The school's own website
Who goes there
Almost every pupil at Cambian Great Dunmow School has an education, health and care plan (15 of 15 in 2026).
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Cambian Great Dunmow School.
6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Station Road (adjacent), 200 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 55 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and criminal damage and arson. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Essex (97).
Sources: DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 1 year agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Safeguarding: effective
Independent school standards
Met all the independent school standards.
- Part 1: quality of educationMet
- Part 2: pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural developmentMet
- Part 3: welfare, health and safetyMet
- Part 4: suitability of staff and proprietorsMet
- Part 5: premises and accommodationMet
- Part 6: information for parentsMet
- Part 7: handling of complaintsMet
- Part 8: leadership and managementMet
Source: Ofsted, non-association independent schools inspections and outcomes (Open Government Licence)
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's September 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
This school excels at meeting pupils' emotional and social needs through warm, caring staff relationships and consistent behaviour support. Pupils are highly motivated and show real resilience in their learning, benefiting from a well-designed curriculum tailored to their individual needs. The school offers a wide range of exciting enrichment activities and real-world learning experiences that inspire pupils and help them discover interests for their futures.
Key Strengths
- Staff skilfully help pupils manage their feelings and emotions through strong relationships and consistent behaviour approaches
- Pupils achieve well despite previous education disruption, with staff providing tailored support to turn attitudes to learning around
- The school offers an expanding range of exciting enrichment activities including car mechanics, parkour, and skiing that inspire pupils to learn new skills
- Well-trained staff quickly identify pupils needing reading support and have successfully improved pupils' reading confidence and habits
- Carefully designed PSHE curriculum helps pupils develop important life skills such as forming healthy relationships
Areas for Improvement
- Teachers do not have a consistent, clearly understood approach to teaching writing across subjects, which limits pupils' writing development in depth and accuracy
- Careers education is only at early stages of implementation, so pupils don't receive consistent depth of information to inform their future choices
- Careers education needs to be fully embedded throughout the curriculum to better support pupils' transitions to next stages
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with strong safeguarding culture that prioritises pupils' interests.
Extracurricular Activities
Car mechanics, parkour, skiing, library reading activities
Cambian Great Dunmow School is a special school for pupils aged 11-19 with social, emotional and mental health needs. The school has made significant improvements and is now rated Good overall, up from Requires Improvement at the previous inspection.
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Social & online
Keep up with Cambian Great Dunmow School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 3
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 2 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Essex is 9 (the median across 614 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
60%
Available places
15 pupils
25 places
10 spare places
as recorded on GIAS
Area Demand Pressure - Essex
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Essex
Across Essex council
Places available
17,590
Applications
16,568
Got 1st preference
83.4%
Got preferred school
97.0%
All secondary applications across Essex council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(5)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
0
SEN Support
15
EHC Plans
100.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Cambian Great Dunmow School is not approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
No need-level breakdown available
Pupil Demographics
Key Indicators
15
Total Pupils
9
Boys
6
Girls
2026 academic year
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Cambian Great Dunmow School
Questions parents ask about Cambian Great Dunmow School
What is Cambian Great Dunmow School's Ofsted rating?
Cambian Great Dunmow School was rated Good at its most recent Ofsted inspection in September 2025.
Does Cambian Great Dunmow School meet the independent school standards?
At its most recent standard inspection, in September 2025, Cambian Great Dunmow School met all the independent school standards.
How many pupils go to Cambian Great Dunmow School?
Cambian Great Dunmow School has around 15 pupils on roll.
Does Cambian Great Dunmow School have specialist SEN provision?
Cambian Great Dunmow School is not approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014.
How do I apply to Cambian Great Dunmow School?
Cambian Great Dunmow School is an independent school and runs its own admissions rather than going through the local authority. Contact the school directly for entry requirements, assessment dates, fees and any bursaries.
How many road collisions happen near Cambian Great Dunmow School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 3 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 2 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Essex is 9 (the median across 614 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Cambian Great Dunmow School?
Cambian Great Dunmow School is at Unit 13, Flitch Industrial Estate, Chelmsford Road, Essex, CM6 1XJ.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)