Pathways School
New Road, Dagenham, RM9 6PH
- Phase
- Free Schools
- School type
- Free schools special
- Ages
- 6 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE COMPASS PARTNERSHIP OF SCHOOLS
- Headteacher
- Mr Thomas Neave
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Dagenham and Rainham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 90
- Pupils on roll
- 83
- URN
- 147189
- Local authority
- Barking and Dagenham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02039176900
About this school
Pathways School is a special academy in Dagenham. It teaches children aged 6 to 19 and has 83 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 6 | 3 | 8 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | - | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | - | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | - | 25% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | - | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | - | 13% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 89.0 | - | 94.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 88.0 | - | 89.0 |
| Reading progress | - | - | - |
| Writing progress | -8.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | - | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 7 | 9 | 8 |
| Attainment 8 score | 5.7 | 1.8 | 9.8 |
| Progress 8 score | - | -1.97 -2.89 to -1.04 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 14% | 0% | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 14% | 0% | 12.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
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 Pathways 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 | 0% | 59.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | — | 62.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 64.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Barking and Dagenham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.7 | 44.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 1.8 | 41.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 9.8 | 43.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 29.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 38.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 41.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47 |
| 2023/24 | 56 |
| 2024/25 | 73 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 100%
- English as an additional language
- 1.4%
- Overall absence
- 41.47%
- Persistent absence
- 81.71%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Hopewell School0.7 miles
Special schools · Essex
-
Northstar Nurture School1.0 miles
Special schools · Dagenham
-
Mayesbrook Park School1.0 miles
Local authority maintained schools · Dagenham
-
Oxlow Bridge School1.2 miles
Free Schools · Dagenham
-
Riverside Bridge School1.5 miles
Free Schools · Barking
Other schools in Dagenham
- Mayesbrook Park School Local authority maintained schools
- Northstar Nurture School Special schools
- Oxlow Bridge School Free Schools
- SENARP Vibe Independent School Special schools
- Trinity School Special schools
- 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
Common questions
- What year groups does Pathways School teach?
- Pathways School teaches children aged 6 to 19. It is a special school in Dagenham.
- Who is the headteacher of Pathways School?
- The headteacher of Pathways School is Mr Thomas Neave, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Pathways School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Pathways 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 big is Pathways School?
- Pathways School has 83 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 6 to 19.
- Is Pathways School full?
- Pathways School has capacity for 90 pupils and 83 on roll (92%), so it has space against 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 Pathways School a faith school?
- No. Pathways School has no designated religious character.
- Is Pathways School a selective school?
- No. Pathways School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Pathways School?
- Pathways School is part of THE COMPASS PARTNERSHIP OF SCHOOLS. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Pathways School have?
- The schools register lists Pathways School's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Pathways School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Pathways School's absence rate?
- Pathways School's overall absence rate is 41.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Pathways School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Pathways 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 10 July 2026.