Ofsted: Requires improvement

Riverside Meadows Academy

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMr Andrew Armstrong & Chris Carey

corporate_fareHORIZONS EDUCATION TRUST

location_onSt. Neots, PE19 1DZ

language Visit Website phone 1223471791

verified

Ofsted

Requires improvement

Inspected 2025

groups

Students

trending_up

Attainment 8

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GCSE Rank

#54 in Cambridgeshire

#4,203 of 4,663 nationally

summarize

Riverside Meadows Academy is a Academy special sponsor led school in St. Neots, serving ages 11-18. Currently Requires Improvement according to Ofsted — the school is working to raise standards.

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School Summary

Riverside Meadows Academy is an academy special sponsor led in St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, admitting pupils aged 11-18. It is part of HORIZONS EDUCATION TRUST. The school has approximately 113 pupils on roll, of whom 72% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, pupils achieved an Attainment 8 score of 6, placing the school #54 in Cambridgeshire and #4,203 of 4,663 nationally. 0.00% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and Maths.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2025. The school's current overall rating is Requires improvement. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Inadequate, behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement, personal development Requires improvement, and leadership and management Inadequate.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 8.8:1. There is 1 teaching vacancy.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 37.2 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

analytics

Secondary Performance Trends (KS4)

2025

Progress 8 Score

Attainment 8

Grade 5+ E&M

0.00%

Entering EBacc0.00%

EBacc APS0.47

2024

Progress 8 Score

-2.19

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

4.2

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc0.00%

EBacc APS0.3

2023

Progress 8 Score

-1.67

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

9.0

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc0%

EBacc APS0.90

2022

Progress 8 Score

-2.52

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

4.2

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc0%

EBacc APS0.42

2021

Progress 8 Score

Attainment 8

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc0%

EBacc APS-

2019

Progress 8 Score

-2.05

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

8.4

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc0%

EBacc APS0.39

2018

Progress 8 Score

-2.35

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

4.6

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc0%

EBacc APS0.18

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Student Destinations (After Secondary)

This module shows what students did after finishing Key Stage 4 (GCSEs). It reflects how well the school prepares pupils for the real world.

2025

Stayed in Education / Employment

73%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)60%

Apprenticeships7%

Employment7%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)20%

2024

Stayed in Education / Employment

63%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)53%

Apprenticeships0%

Employment11%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)26%

2023

Stayed in Education / Employment

73%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)69%

Apprenticeships0%

Employment4%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)23%

2022

Stayed in Education / Employment

73%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)69%

Apprenticeships0%

Employment4%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)23%

2021

Stayed in Education / Employment

84%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)79%

Apprenticeships0%

Employment5%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)11%

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

24 June 2025

Inspection Report

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29 March 2023

Inspection Report

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04 June 2019

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

4 Evaluations

2025-06-24

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 EIF

Not Judged

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Why no overall grade?

From autumn 2024, Ofsted stopped issuing a single headline grade (Outstanding / Good / RI / Inadequate). Instead, each inspection area is graded individually. This follows a major review after the death of headteacher Ruth Perry in 2023. The overall effectiveness field is left as "Not judged" in the published data.

Education

Inadequate

Behaviour

Requires improvement

Development

Requires improvement

Leadership

Inadequate

2023-03-29

S5 Inspection EIF

Requires improvement

Education

Requires improvement

Behaviour

Requires improvement

Development

Requires improvement

Leadership

Requires improvement

2019-06-04

Academy First Section 5 Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2016-03-10

None Legacy

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

27.4%per term

warning Above Average

National average: 7.3% for this term (secondary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

14.2%(16 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 7.398% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 113 pupils. During this period, there were 31 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 27.4%, which is above the termly national average of 7.3%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	113	31	27.4%	7.3%	0
2024/25 (Autumn term)	115	54	47.0%	7.8%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	112	16	14.3%	7.4%	0
2023/24 (Spring term)	107	9	8.4%	7.1%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	106	17	16.0%	8.2%	0
2022/23 (Summer term)	84	10	11.9%	6.6%	0
2022/23 (Spring term)	77	18	23.4%	6.4%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	77	12	15.6%	5.9%	0
2021/22 (Summer term)	81	7	8.6%	4.7%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	84	6	7.1%	4.9%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	84	4	4.8%	4.4%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	101	1	1.0%	3.6%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	103	8	7.8%	1.0%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	107	57	53.3%	3.9%	0
2019/20 (Summer term)	89	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	89	23	25.8%	3.2%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	86	79	91.9%	4.2%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	86	36	41.9%	3.1%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	88	53	60.2%	3.8%	0
2018/19 (Autumn term)	84	84	100.0%	3.8%	0
2017/18 (Summer term)	79	67	84.8%	3.4%	0
2017/18 (Spring term)	70	45	64.3%	3.0%	1
2017/18 (Autumn term)	60	77	128.3%	3.7%	0
2016/17 (Summer term)	50	27	54.0%	3.0%	0
2016/17 (Spring term)	38	20	52.6%	3.3%	0
2016/17 (Autumn term)	34	6	17.6%	3.1%	0

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 66 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 36 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 6 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 3 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 1 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 1 pupils

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Parent View on Pastoral Care

Results from the official Ofsted Parent View survey, reflecting direct parent sentiment regarding the school environment.

My child is happy at this school.

43.0%Positive

My child feels safe at this school.

39.0%Positive

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

22.0%Positive

View All Survey Responseskeyboard_arrow_down

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

strongly agree4%

agree25%

disagree29%

strongly disagree43%

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

strongly agree4%

agree18%

disagree21%

strongly disagree50%

don't know7%

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

strongly agree21%

agree14%

disagree14%

strongly disagree50%

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

yes100%

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

strongly agree11%

agree25%

disagree11%

strongly disagree46%

dont know7%

The school has high expectations for my child.

strongly agree7%

agree25%

disagree18%

strongly disagree32%

don't know18%

My child does well at this school.

strongly agree7%

agree32%

disagree14%

strongly disagree43%

don't know4%

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

strongly agree4%

agree36%

disagree29%

strongly disagree29%

don't know4%

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

strongly agree11%

agree46%

disagree18%

strongly disagree21%

don't know4%

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

strongly agree14%

agree46%

disagree11%

strongly disagree21%

don't know7%

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

strongly agree21%

agree18%

disagree18%

strongly disagree39%

don't know4%

I would recommend this school to another parent.

yes43%

no57%

Riverside Meadows Academy

School Summary

Academic Performance

Secondary Performance Trends (KS4)

Student Destinations (After Secondary)

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Distance to School

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Parent View on Pastoral Care

My child is happy at this school.

My child feels safe at this school.

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

The school has high expectations for my child.

My child does well at this school.

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

I would recommend this school to another parent.

Funding & Staffing

Staffing

Teacher Turnover