Purley Oaks Primary School

Inspection of Purley Oaks Primary School Bynes Road, South Croydon, Surrey CR2 0PR

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good 18–19 September 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a welcoming and caring school. Pupils come from lots of different backgrounds. Many of them join at various points in the school year. Leaders and staff do everything they can to make sure that their pupils are safe and happy. Above all, staff share a moral purpose to give all pupils a rich education. They give their pupils experiences that they might not otherwise have. Pupils enjoy their time here.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff expect all pupils to work hard and be on their best behaviour at all times. Pupils rise to these expectations. They follow the school’s motto of ‘Pride in Excellence’. Staff manage any instances of poor behaviour well. The school is a calm and orderly place. Pupils say that bullying is not an issue at school because teachers sort out any problems quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is at the heart of the local community. The leadership team runs the children’s centre that shares the school site. This enables leaders to offer a wide range of services to parents and carers. Parents are very pleased with the school. One called it ‘a hidden gem’ and said it was the first choice for their child.

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better?

By the time pupils leave, governors and leaders want their pupils to be ready for secondary school and able to contribute to society. The education on offer to pupils helps them to fulfil this vision.

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better?

The school offers a broad range of subjects and extra-curricular activities. Many subjects are taught around a particular topic or question. Pupils’ reading and writing tasks are often connected to this. Leaders work with teachers to identify the content for each subject. However, French, design and technology, and geography are not taught in as much depth as other subjects.

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better?

Staff sequence lessons so that pupils build up their knowledge in many subjects. For example, Year 5 pupils knew the historical events before the Roman invasion of Britain. This is because they had already learned about the Celts. Teachers try to make sure that pupils remember the knowledge taught before moving on to something more difficult. Year 6 pupils, for example, developed their understanding of place value using six-digit numbers. They used this knowledge to tackle a challenging mental mathematics activity.

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better?

Pupils of all ages love their art, music and physical education lessons. In key stage 2, pupils learn a different instrument each year. They know a lot about music. For example, pupils learn about rhythm and pulse in Year 1. Pupils used this knowledge to compose pieces in Year 3.

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better?

The school fosters a love of reading. Each class uses the well-resourced school library regularly. Staff promote a wide range of books to entice pupils. This broadens 18–19 September 2019

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pupils’ interests and introduces them to new authors. The teaching of early reading is a focus for the school. Most younger pupils can read simple texts with increasing fluency. However, the weakest readers need more help to develop their confidence and accuracy.

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Teachers do not consistently adapt the curriculum to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, it is clear from leaders’ actions that they are bringing this about. Leaders have begun staff training so that planning meets pupils’ needs.

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The early years team knows the children well. Staff find out what children already know and can do when they start. They use this information to plan activities that will help children the most. Children behave well in the early years. They play alongside each other happily. Parents are included in their child’s learning. The early years has an ‘open-door’ policy and invites parents to take part in lessons. Teachers also run workshops for parents so that they can help their children at home.

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Pupils have lots of opportunities to visit places of interest and take part in events. Examples include performing at the O2 Arena and competing in sports tournaments. All pupils have equal access to trips. Pupils have a variety of extra-curricular clubs that they can attend.

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The headteacher and his leadership team are well respected by staff, pupils and parents. It is clear that leaders only want what is best for their pupils. Staff morale is high. Staff say that leaders are supportive and considerate of workload. Governors bring a range of useful experience and skills. They work closely with school leaders and are committed to further improving the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The safeguarding leader uses her expertise to keep staff up to date in their training. Staff know how to report concerns and are vigilant of pupils’ welfare. When referrals are made to external agencies, leaders do not give up until the right help has been given. Pupils learn how to manage risks they may face.

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Safeguarding

Staff regularly go above and beyond their statutory duty to support vulnerable pupils and their families. They identify pupils and families for early help and work closely with the children’s centre. Together they provide a range of services, including support with parenting and mental health. 18–19 September 2019

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Phonics could be taught better. Leaders need to ensure that staff have further training so that pupils are taught consistently well. They must also ensure that the books chosen for the weakest early readers are better matched to the sounds they know to develop confidence and accuracy.  Leaders have started to work on their plans to improve the support for pupils with SEND in the delivery of the curriculum. This is the case in both the mainstream and specialist provision. Teachers need to have a sharper understanding of the needs of pupils with SEND. They do not consistently adapt the curriculum well enough to meet the pupils’ needs.  Leaders should improve the profile of French, design and technology, and geography. They must ensure that pupils develop the disciplinary knowledge and skills in these subjects to match the strengths in other subjects.  Transitional statements have been applied because the curriculum plans for

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

French, design and technology, and geography are not as advanced as in other subjects. However, it is clear from the actions that leaders have already taken that they are in the process of improving these subjects.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 18–19 September 2019

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 11 December 2018

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Information about this school

 The school shares its site with a children’s centre, which is led and managed by the school. This is inspected separately.  The school has a higher than average proportion of pupils who join at different points in the school year.  The number of pupils with SEND is above average. The school is inclusive and deals with a range of educational needs. In 2018, the school set up a specialist provision, the Maple Class, to cater for a small group of pupils with more complex needs.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 During the inspection, we met with the headteacher and the leadership team. We also met with four members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  The inspection focused deeply on reading, mathematics, music and history. All other subjects were considered as part of the inspection. We discussed these 18–19 September 2019

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subjects with leaders, pupils and staff. We visited lessons and looked at pupils’ work.  We met with the designated safeguarding lead to discuss the school’s safeguarding arrangements. We reviewed safeguarding documentation, including records of referrals and actions taken by leaders and staff. We also checked the single central record.

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Inspection team

Jude Wilson, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

James Robinson Ofsted Inspector 18–19 September 2019

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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