Downsell Primary School

Waltham Forest · E15 2BS

General information Primary School · 2-11 years Who goes here 426 pupils, 33.2% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 42% on SEN support Behaviour 6.6% absence rate Staff 16.2% turnover Financials £8,992 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Downsell Primary School

General Information

Address: Downsell Road, Leyton, London, E15 2BS – View on map
Phone: 02085560103
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Deena Chetty
Age range: 2-11 years
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

426 pupils out of 695 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 124
% eligible for free school meals: 33.2%
Pupil mix: 9 in 10 (similar to the Waltham Forest average)
English as an additional language: 75% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 16.2% a year (Waltham Forest 19.2%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 55% moved to another school, 45% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Waltham Forest: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 1 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 5 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Waltham Forest, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 6.6%
Persistently absent pupils: 19.2%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 42.0%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 11.7%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 75 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 53 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 41 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 7 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 27 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 13 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 7 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 2 pupils
Severe learning difficulty: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2023 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 66% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 15% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 8 percentage points below the Waltham Forest average (74%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 64% against an expected 62%)
3-year average (expected standard): 64%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 71% · Writing 83% · Maths 76% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 66%
Average test scores: reading 106, maths 106
Based on: 59 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolWaltham Forest averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 8 percentage points below the Waltham Forest average (74%).

Year 6 SATs: 39th of 49 junior and primary schools in the area

=37Barn Croft Primary School68%
=37Longshaw Primary Academy68%
#39Downsell Primary School66%
#40Handsworth Primary School65%
#41George Mitchell School61%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Yardley Primary School97%
#2St Mary's CofE Primary School96%
#3South Grove Primary School90%
=4St Saviour's Church of England Primary School89%
=4Willow Brook Primary School Academy89%
=6Ainslie Wood Primary School87%
=6Barclay Primary School87%
=6Davies Lane Primary School87%
=6Selwyn Primary School87%
=6The Winns Primary School87%
=6Walthamstow Primary Academy87%
=12Coppermill Primary School86%
=12Roger Ascham Primary School86%
#14Riverley Primary School84%
=15The Jenny Hammond Primary School83%
=15Thomas Gamuel Primary School83%
=17St Mary's Catholic Primary School82%
=17Whittingham Primary Academy82%
#19Oakhill Primary School81%
=20Lime Academy Larkswood80%
=20Stoneydown Park School80%
=20Thorpe Hall Primary School80%
#23Sybourn Primary School79%
#24Henry Maynard Primary School77%
#25Hillyfield Primary Academy75%
#26Buxton School74%
=27Chapel End Junior Academy73%
=27Mayville Academy73%
=27Newport School73%
=30Parkside Primary School72%
=30Whitehall Primary School72%
=32Dawlish Primary School71%
=32Greenleaf Primary School71%
#34George Tomlinson Primary School70%
=35Chase Lane Primary School69%
=35The Woodside Primary Academy69%
=37Barn Croft Primary School68%
=37Longshaw Primary Academy68%
#39Downsell Primary School66%
#40Handsworth Primary School65%
#41George Mitchell School61%
#42Chingford CofE Primary School58%
#43Edinburgh Primary School57%
#44Salisbury Manor Primary School56%
#45Gwyn Jones Primary School55%
#46Mission Grove Primary School46%
#47St Patrick's Catholic Primary School44%
#48St Joseph's Catholic Junior School43%
#49Emmanuel Community School38%

View full Ofsted inspection report

15th of 37 primary schools in Waltham Forest for Ofsted rating

#13Coppermill Primary SchoolGood
#14Dawlish Primary SchoolGood
#15Downsell Primary SchoolGood
#16Edinburgh Primary SchoolGood
#17George Tomlinson Primary SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Davies Lane Primary SchoolOutstanding
#2Riverley Primary SchoolOutstanding
#3Selwyn Primary SchoolOutstanding
#4South Grove Primary SchoolOutstanding
#5St Mary's CofE Primary SchoolOutstanding
#6St Saviour's Church of England Primary SchoolOutstanding
#7Sybourn Primary SchoolOutstanding
#8The Woodside Primary AcademyOutstanding
#9Willow Brook Primary School AcademyOutstanding
#10Yardley Primary SchoolOutstanding
#11Ainslie Wood Primary SchoolGood
#12Chase Lane Primary SchoolGood
#13Coppermill Primary SchoolGood
#14Dawlish Primary SchoolGood
#15Downsell Primary SchoolGood
#16Edinburgh Primary SchoolGood
#17George Tomlinson Primary SchoolGood
#18Greenleaf Primary SchoolGood
#19Handsworth Primary SchoolGood
#20Henry Maynard Primary SchoolGood
#21Hillyfield Primary AcademyGood
#22Lime Academy LarkswoodGood
#23Longshaw Primary AcademyGood
#24Mayville AcademyGood
#25Mission Grove Primary SchoolGood
#26Parkside Primary SchoolGood
#27Roger Ascham Primary SchoolGood
#28Salisbury Manor Primary SchoolGood
#29St Mary's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#30St Patrick's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#31Stoneydown Park SchoolGood
#32The Jenny Hammond Primary SchoolGood
#33The Winns Primary SchoolGood
#34Thorpe Hall Primary SchoolGood
#35Walthamstow Primary AcademyGood
#36Whitehall Primary SchoolGood
#37Emmanuel Community SchoolRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £8,992 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

7th of 45 primary schools in Waltham Forest for spending per pupil

#5St Saviour's Church of England Primary School£9,789
#6South Grove Primary School£9,650
#7Downsell Primary School£8,992
#8Walthamstow Primary Academy£8,971
#9Mayville Academy£8,945

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Edinburgh Primary School£12,575
#2Barn Croft Primary School£10,468
#3Coppermill Primary School£10,184
#4Emmanuel Community School£9,807
#5St Saviour's Church of England Primary School£9,789
#6South Grove Primary School£9,650
#7Downsell Primary School£8,992
#8Walthamstow Primary Academy£8,971
#9Mayville Academy£8,945
#10Sybourn Primary School£8,740
#11Longshaw Primary Academy£8,733
#12St Mary's CofE Primary School£8,576
#13Newport School£8,552
#14Hillyfield Primary Academy£8,523
#15Thorpe Hall Primary School£8,439
#16Ainslie Wood Primary School£8,259
#17Davies Lane Primary School£8,250
#18Thomas Gamuel Primary School£8,240
#19Henry Maynard Primary School£8,136
#20Chase Lane Primary School£8,129
#21Dawlish Primary School£8,110
#22Lime Academy Larkswood£7,984
#23Salisbury Manor Primary School£7,983
#24St Patrick's Catholic Primary School£7,982
#25Riverley Primary School£7,962
#26Gwyn Jones Primary School£7,888
#27The Winns Primary School£7,882
#28Roger Ascham Primary School£7,865
#29The Woodside Primary Academy£7,805
#30Stoneydown Park School£7,751
#31The Jenny Hammond Primary School£7,724
#32Oakhill Primary School£7,690
#33Greenleaf Primary School£7,667
#34Parkside Primary School£7,609
#35Whittingham Primary Academy£7,590
#36Chingford CofE Primary School£7,524
#37Willow Brook Primary School Academy£7,505
#38St Mary's Catholic Primary School£7,504
#39Handsworth Primary School£7,483
#40Whitehall Primary School£7,428
#41Mission Grove Primary School£7,316
#42George Tomlinson Primary School£7,203
#43Barclay Primary School£7,173
#44Selwyn Primary School£6,778
#45Yardley Primary School£6,621

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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