Southend YMCA Community School, Southend-on-Sea
Southend YMCA Community School is a secondary school for pupils aged 14 to 18 in Southend-on-Sea, part of South Essex Community School Ltd. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in June 2015. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in May 2025 did not change this grade.
- Ofsted
- Good (2015)
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Southend YMCA Community School in detail
Getting a place at Southend YMCA Community School
Across Southend-on-Sea, 78% of families were offered their first-choice secondary school for 2026 entry, and 97% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2026, families in Southend-on-Sea lodged 117 appeals against secondary school offers; 95 reached a hearing and 6 succeeded (6.3% of those heard).
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to Southend YMCA Community School are Southend High School for Boys (0.7 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 75.1); Chase High School (0.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 38.5); St Bernard's High School (0.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 51.5); and Cecil Jones Academy (1.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 35.4).
Southend High School for BoysChase High SchoolSt Bernard's High SchoolCecil Jones Academy
The trust
Southend YMCA Community School is run by its own single-school academy trust.
Who goes there
45.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 0% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (84%) and Mixed (10%).
In 2026, 4 pupils (12.9%) received SEN support and 22 (71%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Prittlewell Rail Station, about 230 metres away (roughly a 3-minute walk).
2 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Blue Boar (opposite), 230 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Southend YMCA Community School stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 975 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Southend-on-Sea (318), as is usual near a town centre.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to Southend YMCA Community School are St Mary's, Prittlewell, CofE Primary School (0.4 miles); The Westborough School (0.5 miles); St Helen's Catholic Primary School (0.5 miles); and Bournemouth Park Academy (0.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
St Mary's, Prittlewell, CofE Primary SchoolThe Westborough SchoolSt Helen's Catholic Primary SchoolBournemouth Park Academy
Sources: DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; 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 agoThis judgement is from June 2015, 11 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Sixth Form
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's May 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
This school excels at helping young people who have fallen behind in their education get back on track. Staff create a warm, supportive environment where pupils feel they can be themselves, and the school provides practical support with literacy and numeracy alongside excellent pastoral care. The school also ensures pupils develop real-world skills like cooking, budgeting and job interview techniques to prepare them for adult life.
Key Strengths
- Outstanding behaviour and attitudes, with pupils forming warm relationships with staff and responding positively to learning
- Excellent pastoral care and support for pupils with SEND, including those with EHC plans
- Strong careers provision with work experience, employability skills training, and practical life skills for all pupils
- Ambitious and broad curriculum tailored to meet varying pupil needs
- Pupils quickly re-engage with education and achieve success in their studies
Areas for Improvement
- Unnecessary repetition in curriculum with King's Trust accreditation duplicating aspects of PSHE education
- Oracy development is fragmented across different qualifications rather than following a coherent strategy
- Phonics programme is in early stages of development, leaving some pupils without specialist reading support
Safeguarding
The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with the school demonstrating strong systems and processes to keep pupils safe.
Extracurricular Activities
Work experience, musical theatre visits, hate crime project with Essex fire and police services, garden project at sixth-form site, cultural visits, cooking and life skills training
Southend YMCA Community School is an alternative provision for pupils aged 14-18 who have experienced significant disruption to their education. In the short time pupils spend at the school, they successfully re-engage with learning and gain qualifications needed for their next steps.
At a Glance
45.2%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
Yes
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby secondary schools
Keep up with Southend YMCA Community School
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Southend YMCA Community School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Southend YMCA Community School is in Southend-on-Sea; for families living there:
Apply to Southend-on-Sea for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 61
- Fatal
- 1
- Serious
- 18
- Children hurt
- 6
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 61 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 18 serious and 42 slight.
6 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 4 on foot and 2 in a vehicle or otherwise.
16 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 Southend-on-Sea is 29 (the median across 61 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
48%
Available places
31 pupils
65 places
34 spare places
as recorded on GIAS
Area Demand Pressure - Southend-on-Sea
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Southend-on-Sea
Across Southend-on-Sea council
Places available
2,580
Applications
2,060
Got 1st preference
78.3%
Got preferred school
97.4%
All secondary applications across Southend-on-Sea council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
4
SEN Support
22
EHC Plans
83.9%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
31
Total Pupils
18
Boys
13
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
13
Teachers
2.4:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£50,343
Mean salary
2026 data
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Southend YMCA Community School
Showing 10 of 14 linked schools
Questions parents ask about Southend YMCA Community School
What is Southend YMCA Community School's Ofsted rating?
Southend YMCA Community School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in May 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in June 2015, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Southend YMCA Community School?
No fixed boundary. When Southend YMCA Community School is oversubscribed, Southend-on-Sea allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
How many pupils go to Southend YMCA Community School?
Southend YMCA Community School has around 31 pupils on roll. 45% are eligible for free school meals.
How do I apply to Southend YMCA Community School?
Apply through Southend-on-Sea's coordinated admissions process, naming Southend YMCA Community School on your application. The national closing date in England is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts.
How many road collisions happen near Southend YMCA Community School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 61 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 18 serious and 42 slight. 6 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 4 on foot and 2 in a vehicle or otherwise. 16 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 Southend-on-Sea is 29 (the median across 61 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Southend YMCA Community School?
Southend YMCA Community School is at The Ticket House, 110 East Street, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS2 6LH.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)