St Nicholas School, Southend-on-Sea

Special
Academy special converter
Mixed
Ages 1116

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Mrs Laura Fox
Pupils:108 / 108 capacity
LA:Southend-on-Sea
Phone:01702462322
Address:Philpott Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, SS2 4RL
Trust:SEN TRUST SOUTHEND
Admissions:Not applicable
Status:open
Opened:1 September 2017

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 8 months ago

Report card - no overall grade (new Ofsted framework from Sep 2024)

Achievement
Expected Standard
Behaviour
Strong Standard
Personal Development
Expected Standard
Leadership
Expected Standard
Inspected 20 January 2026View full report
URN:144691
UKPRN:10064815
Diocese:Not applicable
Constituency:Southend East and Rochford
Urban/Rural:Urban: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

St Nicholas School excels at understanding each child's individual needs and creating a warm, inclusive environment where every pupil feels valued and supported. Staff are exceptionally skilled at helping pupils overcome barriers to learning and develop the confidence and social skills they need to succeed. Parents report transformative improvements in their children's personal and social development, with the school working closely with families to ensure no child is left behind.

Key Strengths

  • Excellent behaviour and attendance, with near all pupils who previously had low attendance now engaging consistently well in school
  • Warm, supportive relationships between staff and pupils that create a safe, caring learning environment
  • Highly inclusive culture with effective transition processes that help pupils blossom personally and socially
  • Well-designed progressive curriculum with clear knowledge sequencing through 'Quests' that meet diverse pupil needs
  • Strong leadership and governance with high staff satisfaction and parental confidence

Areas for Improvement

  • Some teaching activities could be deepened and extended further to allow pupils to deepen their learning more
  • Leaders are ambitious to refine annual targets and strategies for even more precise support to pupils
  • School aims to deepen pupils' knowledge further in English and mathematics

Safeguarding

Safeguarding standards are met - the school has created an open and positive culture of safeguarding where all legal requirements are met and pupils feel safe.

Extracurricular Activities

School council roles, friendship ambassadors, on-site clubs, school trips, residential visits, off-site competitions, employer visits, work experience programme

St Nicholas School is a special educational needs school in Southend-on-Sea that has created a highly inclusive, nurturing environment where pupils with complex needs thrive academically and personally. The school has achieved strong outcomes in attendance, behaviour, and pupil wellbeing through personalised support and expert staff.

At a Glance

59.3%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

No

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty

SEN Provision

No

Special Measures

Class Sizes

0.0

Avg class size

0

Total classes

2024/25 academic year

Getting There

Bus Stops

Whittingham Avenue (N-bound)
128m · 2 min walk
Canterbury Avenue (adj)
159m · 3 min walk
Newington Avenue (W-bound)
165m · 3 min walk
Hamstel Road (W-bound)
265m · 4 min walk
North Avenue (opp)
294m · 5 min walk
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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

100%

Over capacity

108 pupils

108 capacity

0 places over capacity

Area Demand Pressure - Southend-on-Sea

Low pressure
New homes approved:682
Projected new pupils:123

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Southend-on-Sea

Admissions Demand - Southend-on-Sea

Low demand0.80x oversubscription

Places available

2,645

Applications

2,111

Got 1st preference

81.7%

Got preferred school

98.3%

Secondary admissions across Southend-on-Sea (2025/26)

Inspection History(4)

20 January 2026Report card
Achievement
Behaviour
Personal Development
Leadership
2 February 2022
6 September 2017

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SEN Provision

How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.

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Pupil Demographics

The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.

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Teachers & Staff

Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.

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Pupil Absence
2024/25

11.2562%

Overall absence

27.77778%

Persistent absence

108

Enrolments

Authorised8.2636%
Unauthorised2.99259%
Persistent (10%+)27.77778%
Severe (50%+)6.48148%

Absence trend

13.0441%
18/19
19.93129%
20/21
12.2029%
21/22
15.38844%
22/23
13.78002%
23/24
11.2562%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

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