Immanuel School Review 2026: A small all-through community with a strongly Christian ethos

Immanuel School is a small, all-through independent school for pupils aged 3 to 16 in Havering, with a published capacity of 163. The setting is deliberately close-knit, with around 100 pupils on roll in recent official reporting, and a day-to-day rhythm shaped as much by pastoral relationships as by academic targets. The February 2025 inspection confirmed that the Independent School Standards were met across leadership, education, wellbeing, and safeguarding.

Families generally come here because they want an education rooted in Christian principles, with explicit language around character, discipleship, and partnership with parents, and with a curriculum that blends structured core learning with practical subjects and a strong emphasis on personal development.

This is a school that positions itself as a faith venture, with a clear sense of mission and a vocabulary of purpose that is consistently applied across the age range. Its published core values include Teachable, Excellence, Loyalty, Encouragement, Honesty, Humility, Servant Hearted, and Kindness, and these are intended to be visible in classroom culture and the way pupils relate to one another.

The all-through structure shapes the atmosphere. In a smaller setting, pupils can grow up with staff who know their learning history and family context, which can be reassuring for children who benefit from continuity. It can also create a strong sense of shared norms, because pupils encounter the same expectations around behaviour, respect, and contribution year after year. The school’s governance model reinforces that community feel, with trustees described as actively engaged in strategic oversight and regular monitoring.

House identity is one of the main social organising tools in the secondary years. Students are allocated to four houses, Booth, Pullinger, Baker, and Wilberforce, each tied to a named role model. The house structure provides a practical way to build leadership, because house captains are part of the school’s internal responsibility ladder.

Early years provision is integrated into the wider school rather than operating as a separate nursery brand. The early years approach is explicitly framed around the Early Years Foundation Stage, with communication and language treated as a foundation for broader development. Learning through play is central, with children encouraged to talk, listen, and contribute ideas as part of everyday routines.

For this school, the most useful external benchmark is GCSE outcomes, because it is an all-through school that finishes at 16 and does not have sixth form results.

Ranked 2,307th in England and 19th in Havering for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), performance sits in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile). In practical terms, this is not a results-only profile; it is closer to a broad middle band, where day-to-day teaching quality and cohort mix can make a noticeable difference year to year.

The Attainment 8 score is 50.1. The school’s average EBacc points score is 4.1, close to the recorded England figure of 4.08.

Academic outcomes should also be read alongside the inspection evidence, which describes GCSE results as above the national average and points to generally effective teaching structures, with the caveat that some teaching is not consistently matched to every pupil’s needs. That combination matters for parents, because it suggests the ceiling can be strong for pupils who are well served by the approach, while consistency is a key factor to explore during a visit and conversation with staff.

Curriculum design is presented as both structured and responsive. In the primary years, the school describes structured, differentiated language and mathematics curricula, with cross-curricular topic work drawing on geography, history, and science themes. The site itself is used as a teaching resource, with learning outside the classroom supported by access to a copse, a playing field, and nearby country parks.

In secondary, the curriculum is organised around discrete subjects with weekly timetables. Years 7 to 9 include English, mathematics, science, French, history, geography, religious studies, art, and computer science, alongside practical subjects such as cooking, serving, performing arts, and physical education.

At GCSE, the structure is a blend of core and optional choices. Core GCSEs include English language and literature, mathematics, combined or separate sciences, history, and religious studies, plus a Higher Level Project. Options include French or GCSE physical education, and art or computer science. The implication for families is that the curriculum aims to keep both academic and practical pathways visible, but the option blocks are relatively tight, so pupils with very specific combinations in mind will want to confirm how choices run in a particular year.

Teaching style is described as relational and collaborative, which can be a good fit for pupils who learn best with strong teacher relationships and discussion-based lessons. At the same time, the inspection evidence makes it clear that the school’s improvement work should focus on ensuring that teaching is consistently adapted so all pupils make good progress across the curriculum.

Because the school’s age range ends at 16, the key transition point is after Year 11. The school does not publish a detailed destinations breakdown in the available official pages, so families should treat this as a due diligence question: where do recent cohorts move on for post-16 study, which local sixth forms and colleges are typical, and how are choices supported for pupils aiming for academic A-level routes versus more applied pathways.

What is clear is that careers and readiness for the next stage are built into the programme. The inspection describes a structured approach to personal, social, health and economic education, alongside relationships and sex education, and notes Year 10 work experience as a concrete part of preparation for adult life.

Admissions are handled directly by the school rather than through local authority coordination. The published process begins with requesting information and arranging an informal visit before applying. Each application is considered individually, with references taken from church leaders and the child’s current school, and decisions communicated in writing.

A holding deposit of £600 is required on acceptance of a place, and the offer is held open for one month. For children accessing early years funded places, there is a separate deposit handling approach aligned to statutory guidance, which is relevant for families planning a nursery start with the intention of continuing into Reception and beyond.

There are no published fixed deadlines for 2026 entry on the school’s admissions pages, so parents should assume that timing is driven by available places and the school’s admissions cycle for particular year groups. For families planning a move, it is sensible to start conversations early, because small schools can have limited flexibility in specific year groups.

A practical tip: if you are comparing several small independent options across Havering, use FindMySchool’s Saved Schools feature to keep notes from visits and phone calls, because differences often come down to fit, cohort size, and how confidently the school can meet a child’s learning needs in a given year.

Pastoral support is closely tied to the small-school model. The inspection describes staff knowing pupils well and supporting personal and emotional development effectively, with wellbeing strengthened by clear health and safety systems and strong supervision routines.

Safeguarding practice is a central feature of the official evidence, with emphasis on staff training, clear reporting routes, and robust record keeping. Pupils are taught practical safety through a structured programme that includes online safety, reinforced through drills and workshops.

For pupils with additional needs, the inspection indicates that special educational needs and disabilities are identified and supported through shared support plans and classroom strategies, with pupils making good progress from their starting points. In a smaller setting, this can work well when communication between home and school is strong and when adaptations are practical and consistently implemented.

Extracurricular life is one of the areas where the school’s scale is both a strength and a constraint. The strength is that activities can be tightly aligned with the school’s ethos and delivered by staff who know pupils well. The constraint is variety, particularly if clubs rely on a small number of adults.

There are several distinctive co-curricular signals in the available evidence. Students can participate in bible study and regular opportunities for reflection and prayer during the school day, which will matter to families looking for overt faith practice rather than a values-led ethos only.

On the practical enrichment side, the staff profile includes a volunteer-led approach to small group computing work, with sessions involving building and programming Lego models. That is a concrete example of how a small school can create high-impact learning moments without needing large-scale department resources.

Sport and outdoor learning are supported by the site itself. The school describes a playing field and forest area, and primary teaching makes explicit use of the copse and school grounds. In addition, the school has published a phased plan to develop playground and sports facilities, including a tarmac playground with sports markings and a longer-term multi use games area concept. The published estimates, £250,000 for the first phase and £600,000 for the second, show ambition, but families should treat these as plans and confirm what has been delivered and what remains aspirational.

Immanuel School publishes its fees on a monthly family scale rather than a year-group tariff. As of September 2025, monthly fees are £754.80 for one child, £1,132.80 for two children, £1,383.60 for three children, and £1,572.00 for four children, with the page noting that fees include VAT.

For early years, the school confirms that eligible families can use 15 or 30 funded hours, with funded hours provided free of charge, and it explains how non-funded hours are calculated. Nursery and Reception fee details vary by funding and age, so families should use the school’s early years information to confirm their likely costs.

Financial support is not set out as a bursary or scholarship schedule in the publicly visible admissions pages. If affordability is a concern, the appropriate conversation is whether the school has any discretionary support, whether payment plans are available, and how the school handles mid-year changes in family circumstances.

The school’s published pages do not clearly set out standard start and finish times for the school day, or whether before-school and after-school care operates for primary pupils beyond early years hours. Parents who need wraparound provision should ask directly what is available, what it costs, and whether it runs daily or only on certain days.

For travel, the site is in Romford within the London Borough of Havering. Because the school day is not publicly timetabled on the main information pages, it is worth checking drop-off and collection expectations during a visit, including parking arrangements and any local access constraints.

• Faith integration is explicit. The curriculum is framed around a Biblical worldview, and there are regular opportunities for prayer and spiritual reflection. Families wanting a lighter-touch approach to faith should probe how this looks in daily classroom practice.

• Extracurricular breadth may be limited by scale. Inspectors recommended enhancing co-curricular provision to ensure greater variety aligned to pupils’ interests and needs, which is a useful prompt question for parents.

• Consistency in classroom adaptation matters. The inspection evidence flags that some teaching does not consistently meet the needs of all pupils, so families should explore how the school identifies gaps quickly and adjusts teaching for different starting points.

• No published admissions deadlines for 2026 entry. Planning needs to be proactive, because small year groups can fill quickly and places may depend on cohort balance rather than a single annual intake date.

Immanuel School suits families looking for a small, all-through education that is deliberately rooted in Christian conviction and close partnership with parents. The strongest fit is for pupils who thrive with relational teaching, clear behavioural expectations, and continuity from early years through to GCSE. Entry remains the practical question, because admissions are individualised and year-group capacity is finite, so early engagement is the sensible route.