Selsdon Primary and Nursery School

Inspection of Selsdon Primary and Nursery School Addington Road, South Croydon, Surrey CR2 8LQ

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Inspection dates: 25 and 26 March 2025 and 4 June 2025

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 25 and 26 March 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Selsdon Primary School are happy and proud of their school. The caring and nurturing environment enables pupils to build confidence and feel supported. Pupils are kind to each other. They demonstrate the school’s core value of equality and show respect and understanding of pupils’ different backgrounds.

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What is it like to attend this school?

On the whole, staff have high expectations of pupils. They help pupils to work hard in class and try their best. Pupils generally live up to these expectations. In 2024, too many pupils left the school at the end of Year 6 without fully securing the depth of knowledge needed, especially in mathematics. The school has made improvements to the curriculum and teaching. Pupils currently receive a much stronger quality of education. They achieve well. However, children in the early years have not fully benefited from these improvements.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour is strong throughout the school. Pupils know and understand the school rules and enjoy working in a calm and positive environment. Pupils strive to gain merits, determined to secure a place on the headteacher’s reward trip. Pupils feel safe in school and know they can share any concerns with adults.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school ensures pupils experience trips to enrich the curriculum. Year 6 pupils share their enjoyment of the residential trip and appreciate the life skills they learn. School council members and Year 6 prefects are proud to carry out their roles and support younger peers.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has been through a period of significant change. Things are now much more settled. Leaders have introduced a successful focus on school improvement that is contributing to better learning for pupils.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school curriculum is designed to ensure a breadth of learning and the progression of knowledge and skills for pupils. Pupils learn new knowledge in a sensible order. For example, in mathematics older pupils solve calculations quickly and accurately. This is because they draw on their knowledge of times tables that they have mastered in the younger years. Teachers draw on their regular and relevant training to help them explain new ideas and concepts clearly. This helps pupils to remember much of what they are taught. However, there is variation in how well aspects of handwriting and letter formation are taught. High expectations are not consistently shared, and errors are not always effectively addressed. This means that some pupils do not develop accuracy and fluency in their writing.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Reading is a priority in the school. Staff have received training to deliver the phonics programme consistently well. Teachers regularly check pupils’ knowledge and provide targeted support to address gaps. Pupils read books matched to their level. The school has recently implemented a reading curriculum to develop pupils’ understanding of a variety of texts. 25 and 26 March 2025

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The school accurately identifies the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Clear guidance outlines the required strategies to enable pupils to access the learning. Staff provide useful and well-tailored adaptations for pupils with SEND, whether in class or small group sessions. Pupils’ social and emotional needs are very well met through the school’s nurture provision. Pupils benefit greatly from the high- quality support they receive in this setting.

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Children settle well in the Nursery and Reception classes. Staff provide well for children’s social and emotional needs. Until recently, the early years curriculum did not place sufficient emphasis on the important vocabulary and communication skills that children needed to build. The school had not made staff sufficiently clear about the vocabulary that they needed to build and reinforce in their interactions with children. This hindered the development of pupils’ communication skills and their wider language development.

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The school has high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and most pupils are focused during learning. Strong routines begin in the early years. For example, children in Nursery find their names when they come into class. The school knows its community well and takes time to support individual needs.

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The school provides pupils with a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities. Clubs enable pupils to develop talents and interests, including art and gardening. Many pupils, including those with SEND, compete in sporting events and tournaments. The choir is proud to represent the school at local events, for example singing in local care homes. Year 6 takes its prefect roles seriously; pupils know they are making a positive impact on the school community.

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Governors and leaders work in harmony to continue to improve the school. They have a clear and accurate view of what the school does well and where further improvement is needed. They are well placed to set about improving areas of the school that need more focus. Staff are wholeheartedly supportive of leaders and are united in their pride of working in the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school has not provided sufficient guidance on the important vocabulary that children need to learn in the early years. This means that children do not learn as well as they could. The school should intensify its work to provide staff with the guidance needed to help them to build children’s vocabulary and wider language skills. 25 and 26 March 2025

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 There is variation in how well aspects of handwriting are taught. Expectations of what pupils can achieve are not consistently high and errors are not always clearly identified or addressed. This means that some pupils do not write with fluency and accuracy. The school should carry out further work to develop pupils’ writing and support pupils to write well.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 25 and 26 March 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Co-chairs of governing body Michael Swadling

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 18 June 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Federation of Heavers Farm and Selsdon Primary Schools. The federation has undergone recent significant changes in leadership.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade. 25 and 26 March 2025

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection that the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspection started on 25 March 2025. Inspectors returned on 4 June 2025 to gather additional evidence in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: Deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, other leaders and a range of staff. They also met with members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, geography and design technology. Activities included discussions with leaders and teachers about the curriculum, visiting lessons, speaking with groups of pupils about

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their learning, and a scrutiny of pupils’ work. Inspectors also considered the curriculum in other subjects.  Inspectors checked the school’s policies and records, including those related to behaviour and pupils’ wider development.  Inspectors considered the responses of parents and staff to Ofsted’s online surveys.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors held meetings with staff and spoke with pupils during social times. They observed pupils’ behaviour across the school, including as they arrived at and left school.

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Inspection team

Nathan Lowe, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sacha Husnu-Beresford His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Robin Bosher Ofsted Inspector Naheeda Maharasingam Ofsted Inspector 25 and 26 March 2025

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