Jo Richardson Community School
Gale Street, Castle Green, Dagenham, RM9 4UN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Ms Lisa Keane
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Barking
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,700
- Pupils on roll
- 1,696
- URN
- 133561
- Local authority
- Barking and Dagenham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02082706222
About this school
Jo Richardson Community School is a community secondary school in Dagenham. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 1,696 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Jo Richardson Community School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 284 | 286 | 291 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.6 | 47.2 | 50.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.26 +0.09 to +0.43 | +0.20 +0.03 to +0.37 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 47% | 50% | 48.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 66% | 67.1% | 69.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 14% | 8.7% | 12.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.0 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Jo Richardson Community School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Barking and Dagenham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 48.6 | 44.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 47.2 | 41.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 50.2 | 43.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,682 |
| 2023/24 | 1,651 |
| 2024/25 | 1,686 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Jo Richardson Community School compares
Jo Richardson Community School ranked 6th of 13 secondary schools in Barking and Dagenham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 76% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 36% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50.2 | 6.2% | 38.6% | 1,696 | — |
| Riverside School | 55.5 | 4% | 33.9% | 1,550 | 0.9 miles |
| Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College | 49.7 | 6.9% | 30.8% | 2,418 | 1.2 miles |
| Dagenham Park CofE School | 42.1 | 7.8% | 42.4% | 1,414 | 1.3 miles |
| Greatfields School | 45.6 | 9.3% | 36.8% | 1,248 | 1.8 miles |
| Brook Sixth Form and Academy | 38.7 | 6% | 46.3% | 273 | 2.1 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
- 8 May 2024
-
Ungraded inspection report25 January 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 38.63%
- English as an additional language
- 22.6%
- Overall absence
- 6.15%
- Persistent absence
- 18.33%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Riverside School0.9 miles
Secondary · Barking
-
Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College1.2 miles
Secondary · Barking
-
Dagenham Park CofE School1.3 miles
Secondary · Dagenham
-
Greatfields School1.8 miles
Secondary · Barking
-
Brook Sixth Form and Academy2.1 miles
Secondary · Dagenham
Other schools in Dagenham
Jo Richardson Community School ranks 5th of the 9 ranked secondary schools in Dagenham.
- All Saints Catholic School and Technology College Secondary
- Brook Sixth Form and Academy Secondary
- Dagenham Park CofE School Secondary
- Mayfield School Secondary
- Beam Primary School Primary
- Becontree Primary School Primary
- Dorothy Barley Infants' School Primary
- Dorothy Barley Junior Academy Primary
- Five Elms Primary School Primary
- Godwin Primary School Primary
- Grafton Primary School Primary
- Henry Green Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Jo Richardson Community School teach?
- Jo Richardson Community School teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Dagenham.
- Who is the headteacher of Jo Richardson Community School?
- The headteacher of Jo Richardson Community School is Ms Lisa Keane, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Jo Richardson Community School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Jo Richardson Community School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Jo Richardson Community School?
- Jo Richardson Community School has 1,696 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Jo Richardson Community School full?
- Jo Richardson Community School has capacity for 1,700 pupils and 1,696 on roll (100%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Jo Richardson Community School a faith school?
- No. Jo Richardson Community School has no designated religious character.
- Is Jo Richardson Community School a selective school?
- No. Jo Richardson Community School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- What SEN provision does Jo Richardson Community School have?
- The schools register lists Jo Richardson Community School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Jo Richardson Community School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 48.6 in 2022/23 and 50.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Jo Richardson Community School compare with other schools in Barking and Dagenham?
- Jo Richardson Community School ranked 6th of 13 secondary schools in Barking and Dagenham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 76% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 36% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Jo Richardson Community School's absence rate?
- Jo Richardson Community School's overall absence rate is 6.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Jo Richardson Community School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Jo Richardson Community School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.