Harrow Lodge Primary, Hornchurch, is rated Strong standard in five of six areas. Brady Primary and Harold Court Primary's October Ofsted cards, area by area.

Harrow Lodge Primary School in Hornchurch has been rated Strong standard in five of the six areas Ofsted inspected. The only exception was achievement, graded Expected standard.

It is one of three Havering primary schools whose report cards Ofsted published in mid-October. Brady Primary School in Rainham was rated Strong standard in three areas. Harold Court Primary School in Harold Wood met the expected standard in all six.

All three schools met Ofsted’s safeguarding standards. None was graded below Expected standard anywhere. Inspectors visited all three on 15 and 16 September.

How the grades work

The report cards replaced Ofsted’s old one-word judgements. Each area is graded on a five-point scale:

  • Exceptional
  • Strong standard
  • Expected standard
  • Needs attention
  • Urgent improvement

Strong standard is the second-highest grade. Ofsted explains the scale in its guide to report cards. Our report on La Salette and three other Havering schools covered the September round.

The grades, school by school

Area Harrow Lodge, Hornchurch Brady, Rainham Harold Court, Harold Wood
Inclusion Strong Expected Expected
Curriculum and teaching Strong Expected Expected
Achievement Expected Expected Expected
Attendance and behaviour Strong Strong Expected
Early years Strong Strong Expected
Leadership and governance Strong Strong Expected
Safeguarding Met Met Met
Bar chart: areas graded Strong standard out of six. Harrow Lodge Primary 5, Brady Primary 3, Harold Court Primary 0. All other areas Expected standard; all three met safeguarding standards.
Chart by Romford Today
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Harrow Lodge Primary, Hornchurch

Harrow Lodge, on Rainsford Way, has 456 pupils, which Ofsted calls well above average for a primary. About 26% are eligible for free school meals, close to average. It is part of the Partnership Learning trust (Ofsted report card, published 16 October).

What inspectors said:

  • Inclusion is “central to the school’s work”, with “well-coordinated support” for pupils facing extra barriers.
  • Attendance: pupils “attend more regularly than in the past”, and “substantially fewer are persistently absent”.
  • Early years: “Children get off to a great start.”
  • Leadership: leaders “know the school and its community extremely well”.

On achievement, the one area at Expected standard, inspectors said reading results have been above average over time. But disadvantaged pupils “continue to attain less well than their non-disadvantaged peers, particularly in writing and mathematics”.

Brady Primary, Rainham

Brady Primary, on Wennington Road, has 423 pupils, about 16% of them eligible for free school meals (Ofsted report card, published 16 October).

It was graded Strong standard for attendance and behaviour, early years, and leadership and governance. Inspectors said attendance “has remained consistently positive over recent years”. Nursery children learn in “a consistently calm, purposeful and caring environment”.

On achievement, they said disadvantaged pupils do well over time. Year 1 phonics results have been below the national average, though leaders have improved phonics teaching so those pupils catch up.

Harold Court Primary, Harold Wood

Harold Court Primary, on Church Road, has 420 pupils, about 16% eligible for free school meals (Ofsted report card, published 19 October).

It met the expected standard in all six areas. Inspectors found Year 1 phonics results “consistently high” and Year 6 results “typically close to national averages, with a trend of above-average outcomes in reading”. Whole-school attendance “is improving more quickly than the national trend”. They noted a new Nursery year and said leaders were managing a rise in pupil numbers well.

What it means for you

  • If you are choosing a primary school for September 2027, applications close on 15 January. Each report card has a “facts and figures” section with the school’s results against national averages, which is worth reading alongside the grades.
  • Expected standard is not a fail. It means the school is doing what Ofsted expects. Needs attention and Urgent improvement are the grades that signal problems.
  • Read the full card before deciding: the short grades hide detail, such as the gap for disadvantaged pupils that inspectors flagged at Harrow Lodge.

Sources