Riverside School

Barking and Dagenham · IG11 0FU

General information Secondary School · 11-19 years Who goes here 1550 pupils, 33.6% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted: Outstanding

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 4.9% on SEN support Behaviour 4.0% absence rate Staff 22.4% turnover Financials £8,046 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Riverside School

General Information

Address: Renwick Road, Barking, IG11 0FU – View on map
Phone: 02039465888
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Andrew Roberts
Age range: 11-19 years
Furthest place offered from: Not oversubscribed on distance that year From the council's own Sept 2026 admissions data - not a fixed catchment boundary, and no guarantee for future years, since it shifts with demand each year.
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 219 families put it first for 294 places – 7 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 17 of the 294 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 8 · 2024 9 · 2025 9 · 2026 7
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1550 pupils out of 1824 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 467
% eligible for free school meals: 33.6%
Pupil mix: 8 in 10 (similar to the Barking and Dagenham average)
English as an additional language: 33% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 22.4% a year (Barking and Dagenham 15.1%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 57% moved to another school, 43% 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 Barking and Dagenham: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 36 (1.7 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 6
Suspensions for bullying: 20 (0.9 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 3 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Barking and Dagenham, 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: 4.0%
Persistently absent pupils: 7.9%
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: 4.9%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.2%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Autistic spectrum disorder: 26 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 14 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 11 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 11 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 7 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 7 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 4 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 2 pupils

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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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Outstanding 2022 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.

Attainment 8 score: 55.5
Compared with the area: 6.3 points above the Barking and Dagenham average (49.2)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (+9.5 points against an expected 46.0)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 83% (Barking and Dagenham 69%, England 65%) Improving
Data year: 2024/25

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

GCSE results over time

This schoolBarking and Dagenham 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 6.3 points above the Barking and Dagenham average (49.2).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

3rd of 13 secondary schools in Barking and Dagenham for Attainment 8

#1All Saints Catholic School and Technology College56.1
#2Goresbrook School55.6
#3Riverside School55.5
#4The Sydney Russell School51.2
#5Robert Clack School50.5

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1All Saints Catholic School and Technology College56.1
#2Goresbrook School55.6
#3Riverside School55.5
#4The Sydney Russell School51.2
#5Robert Clack School50.5
#6Jo Richardson Community School50.2
#7Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College49.7
#8The Warren School47.6
#9Greatfields School45.6
#10Eastbury Community School44.8
#11Dagenham Park CofE School42.1
#12Brook Sixth Form and Academy38.7
#13Eastbrook School37.2

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 95.0%
Went into further education: 94.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Literature
English Language
Spanish
Science Double Award
Geography
History
Speech & Drama
Computer Science
Chemistry (General)
Biology
Physics (General)
Sports Studies
Art & Design
Bengali
Chinese
Polish
Italian
Russian

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

4th of 9 secondary schools in Barking and Dagenham for Ofsted rating

#2Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities CollegeOutstanding
#3Jo Richardson Community SchoolOutstanding
#4Riverside SchoolOutstanding
#5The Warren SchoolOutstanding
#6Dagenham Park CofE 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

#1All Saints Catholic School and Technology CollegeOutstanding
#2Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities CollegeOutstanding
#3Jo Richardson Community SchoolOutstanding
#4Riverside SchoolOutstanding
#5The Warren SchoolOutstanding
#6Dagenham Park CofE SchoolGood
#7Eastbury Community SchoolGood
#8Greatfields SchoolGood
#9Robert Clack SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £8,046 (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.

12th of 13 secondary schools in Barking and Dagenham for spending per pupil

#10Robert Clack School£8,613
#11The Sydney Russell School£8,351
#12Riverside School£8,046
#13The Warren School£7,828

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

#1Brook Sixth Form and Academy£12,021
#2Jo Richardson Community School£11,631
#3Eastbrook School£11,521
#4Dagenham Park CofE School£9,495
#5Eastbury Community School£9,386
#6All Saints Catholic School and Technology College£9,042
#7Greatfields School£8,989
#8Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College£8,882
#9Goresbrook School£8,846
#10Robert Clack School£8,613
#11The Sydney Russell School£8,351
#12Riverside School£8,046
#13The Warren School£7,828

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

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Barking and Dagenham: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered