Contents

Education

We are the 2nd best borough in London for 16/17-year-olds with SEN support participating in Education, Employment or Training (EET)

education

SEN (Special Educational Needs) – Pupils in Bexley Schools

Pupils receiving SEN support

In 2020/21:

  • at the end of 2020, 96.5% of 16/17-year-olds with SEN support were participating in education, employment, or training, this is the 2nd highest figure in London and higher than the national figure, 3.5% were NEET or activity not known, this was the 2nd lowest figure in London and lower than the national figure
  • 10% (4,442) of pupils were identified as having SEN Support; a fall from 11.2% in 2018/19 and 10.7% in 2019/20
  • 62% of pupils receiving SEN support were boys and 38% were girls
  • 29.6% were eligible for free school meals, 70.4% were not
  • 86.2% spoke English as a first language, 13,2% spoke a first language other than English

Pupils with an Education and Health Care Plan or statement of SEN

In 2020/21:

  • 3.5% (1,547) of pupils had an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) or a statement of SEN. This has increased in recent years from 3% in 2018/19 to 3.1% in 2019/20
  • 73.5% of pupils with an EHCP or statement of SEN were boys and 26.5% were girls
  • 33% were eligible for free school meals, 67% were not
  • 86% spoke English as a first language and 13.7% spoke a first language other than English
  • at the end of 2020, 93.1% of 16/17-year-olds with an ECHP or statement of SEN were participating in education or training and 6.6% were NEET or activity not known
  • for pupils with an SEN provision, the primary need type was speech, language, and communication (38.7%), followed by social, emotional, and mental health (22.1%) and autistic spectrum disorder (20.6%)

Learn more about the SEND local offer in Bexley.

Bexley Information Advice Support Service (IASS)

Bexley IASS is a service provided by the council to offer information to parents and carers of children and young people with SEND.

The service provides support and advice on:

  • EHC needs assessments and plans
  • resolving disagreements, including mediation and tribunals
  • personal budgets
  • exclusions
  • educational procedures
  • SEND transport and assistance
  • individual casework, representation, and support in preparing for and attending meetings

Learn more about Bexley IASS.

6th

 

We are the 6th highest London borough for rising numbers of students going into higher education

In 2020

37% of working-age residents(16 to 64) have an NVQ level 4 or higher (degree level or above)

  • 20% have an NVQ level 3 only (2+ A-levels or equivalent)
  • 2% have trade apprenticeships
  • 17% have NVQ level 2 only (5+ GCSEs or equivalent)
  • 11% have NVQ level 1 only (1-4 GCSEs or equivalent)
  • 7% have other qualifications
  • 6% have no qualifications

Early Years (children under the age of five)

  • 95% childcare providers were judged as 'Good' or 'Outstanding' by Ofsted
  • in 2021, 47% of two-year-old children, 82% of three-year-old children and 94% of four-year-old children were registered with an early years provider

Children receiving funded entitlement for early education (government-funded early education or childcare for 15 hours per week) in 2021:

  • 386 two-year-olds and 5,685 three and four-year-olds were registered to receive funded entitlement for early education
  • of children receiving funded entitlement, 3,344 were White, 743 were Black, 515 were Asian, 476 were Mixed, 160 were Other and 447 were Unclassified
  • 6.7% of children on funded entitlement had SEN provision

Children receiving extended entitlement for early education (government-funded early education or childcare for 30 hours per week) in 2021:

  • 1,336 three and four-year-olds were registered to receive extended entitlement for early education
  • of children receiving extended entitlement, 740 were White, 172 were Black, 72 were Asian, 79 were Mixed, 31 were Other and 242 were Unclassified
  • 1.9% of children on extended entitlement had SEN provision

Learn more about funded childcare

Early Years Development in 2018/19:

  • 76.7% of children achieved a Good Level of Development (GLD) at the end of Reception (age 4/5), 71% of boys and 82.8% of girls
  • 75.3% of children achieved at least expected level across all early learning goals, 69.4% of boys and 81.8% of girls
  • 76.7% of children achieved at least expected level in Communication & Language and Literacy areas of learning, 71.5% of boys and 83.5% of girls

Learn more about early years education

Primary Schools

In September 2021:

  • there are 59 primary schools in the borough
  • primary schools perform well, with 16% judged as ‘Outstanding’ and 75% judged as ‘Good’ by Ofsted
  • there were 3,221 places in primary schools, with 3,086 Bexley residents applying for places
  • the majority of children (89.2%) applying to primary schools in Bexley are offered their first preference. 92.8% of Bexley residents specifically were offered their first preferences. There are generally more places in primary schools than applications each year

In 2020/21:

  • there were 22,587 children in Bexley primary schools, 51.8% were boys and 48.2% were girls
  • 77.4% of children in Bexley primary schools spoke English as their first language, 22.4% of children spoke a first language other than English
  • 3,999 children were eligible for free school meals, with 14% taking them

In 2019:

  • 70% of children were achieving their expected level of development in reading, writing and maths, with 65% of boys and 74% of girls meeting expected standard at the end of key stage 2
  • 14% pupils were achieving at a higher standard in reading, writing and maths, with 12% of boys and 17% of girls achieving at a higher standard at the end of key stage 2

Learn more about Bexley primary schools and admissions.

Secondary Schools

In September 2021:

  • there are 15 secondary schools including four selective schools and one all-through school in the borough
  • there were 3,490 places in secondary schools, with 3,112 Bexley residents applying for places
  • the majority of children (78.2%) applying to secondary schools in Bexley are offered their first preference, with 64.5% of Bexley residents specifically offered their first preferences. There are generally more places in secondary schools than applications each year

In 2020/21:

  • there were 20,409 children in Bexley secondary schools, 51.1% were boys and 48.9% were girls
  • 83.8% of children in Bexley secondary schools spoke English as their first language, 15.1% of children spoke a first language other than English
  • 2,883 children were eligible for free school meals, with 12.4% taking them

In 2019/20:

  • the average ‘Attainment 8’ score for pupils in 2019 was 53.5, with 51.0 for boys and 56.1 for girls
  • 98.7% of pupils achieved any passes at GCSE or equivalent, with 98.4% for boys and 99.1% for girls
  • 76% of pupils achieved grades 4 or above in English and Mathematics GCSEs, and 55.9% of pupils achieved grades 5 or above
  • 72.5% of boys achieved grades 4 or above in English and Mathematics GCSEs and 52,7% achieved grades 5 or above
  • 79.9% of girls achieved grades 4 or above in English and Mathematics GCSEs, and 59.3% achieved grades 5 or above
  • the average ‘Progress 8’ score for pupils in 2019 was -0.09, lower than the average national ‘Progress 8’ score of -0.03. This indicates pupils are making less than expected progress than their peers with the same starting point

Learn more about Bexley secondary schools and admissions.

Special Schools

In 2020/21:

  • there were six state-maintained special schools in Bexley
  • there were 586 pupils attending special schools, an increase from 519 in 2019/20
  • 75.1% of pupils are boys and 24.9% are girls
  • 86% of pupils spoke English as a first language, 13.8% spoke a first language other than English
  • 40.1% of pupils were eligible for free school meals, with 30.4% of eligible pupils taking them

Ethnicity of pupils in Bexley schools 2020/21

Percentage of the ethnicity of pupils in Bexley schools 2020/21
Ethnicity % of pupils in
primary schools		 % of pupils in
secondary schools		 % of pupils in
special schools		 % of pupils receiving
SEN support		 % of pupils with an
EHCP or statement of SEN
Any other Ethnic group 1.5 1.4 0.7 1.3 0.8
Bangladeshi 0.9 1 0.5 0.7 0.7
Indian 5.5 3.9 1.4 1.8 3.2
Pakistani 0.7 0.7 0.3 0.5 0.6
Any other Asian background 2.9 3.8 3.8 1.5 3
Black African 13 17.6 16 1.2 15.1
Black Caribbean 1.1 1.3 1 9.7 1.3
Any other Black background 1.4 2 4.1 1.4 2.8
Chinese 1.6 1.3 1 0.7 0.9
Mixed - any other Mixed background 3.6 2.4 3.1 2.7 2.8
Mixed - White and Asian 1.9 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.2
Mixed - White and Black African 1.8 1.4 2.1 1.6 1.3
Mixed - White and Black Caribbean 1.9 1.5 1.7 2.5 2.2
White - Irish 0.3 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.1
White - Traveller of Irish heritage 0.1 0 0 0.2 0
White - British 52.5 50.6 57.8 64.9 57.7
White - any other White background 7.6 6.7 3.1 5.3 4.4

Further and Higher Education

  • London South East Colleges are the main provider of further education in Bexley and across south-east London. They have two campuses located in the borough - one in Erith and a specialist construction campus at Holly Hill in Belvedere
  • in 2016/17, 1,700 residents started Higher Education. This was a rise of 4.8% from the previous year and a 17% rise from 2007/8
  • the Learning & Enterprise College Bexley is the main adult education institution in the borough

Learn more about the Learning & Enterprise College Bexley.

Learn more about London South East Colleges.

Young People (16/17-year-olds)

In 2020/21:

  • 89.9% were in full-time education and training
  • 4.8% were in an apprenticeship, this is the highest figure in London and higher than the national figure
  • 0.9% were in work-based learning
  • 0.4% were in employment combined with study

16/17-year-olds participating in education and training:

  • 98.2% 16-year-olds
  • 93.9% 17-year-olds
  • 95% White 16/17-year-olds
  • 96.8% Mixed race 16/17-year-olds
  • 98.9% Black or Black British 16/17-year-olds
  • 99.1% Asian or Asian British 16/17-year-olds
  • 100% Chinese 16/17-year-olds

NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training):

  • 1.8% of 16/17-year-olds were known to be NEET
  • 1.5% of 16/17-year-olds activity was not known
  • 3.6% of males and 3% of females were NEET or not known
  • 2% of 16-year-olds and 4.6% of 17-year-olds were NEET or not known
  • 3.9% White, 2.3% Mixed Race, 1.5% Black or Black British, 1% Asian or Asian British, 0% Chinese were NEET or not known

Learn more about post-16 education

Sources