a school not in a category of concern of St Nicholas School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Miss Katie Goodwin Headteacher St Nicholas School Reedham Drive Purley Surrey CR8 4DS

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School

This letter sets out the findings from the monitoring inspection that took place on 01 October 2025, on behalf of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills. The monitoring inspection was carried out under section 8(2) of the Education Act 2005 and took place because the school meets the monitoring threshold as set out in the Monitoring Inspection Handbook .

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School

The purpose of a monitoring inspection is not to grade the school’s key and (where applicable) provision judgements, but to identify and report on the school’s progress. It is to highlight to the school and parents any improvements that school leaders have made since the school’s previous graded inspection.

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School

During the inspection, I discussed with you and other senior leaders, staff and governors the actions that have been taken to improve the school since the most recent graded inspection. We discussed the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. I carried out visits to lessons and breaktimes, looked at pupils’ work and a range of documents. I have considered all this in coming to my judgement.

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Leaders have made progress to improve the school, but some aspects of the

The school should take further action to:

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Leaders have made progress to improve the school, but some aspects of the

 Embed recent improvements to the curriculum across pathways and subjects so that learning activities fully reflect the school’s deeper understanding of pupils’ different needs.  Ensure that staff have sufficiently strong subject knowledge and are supported to deliver the refined curriculum confidently, so that pupils achieve well across the curriculum.  Further refine the checks made on pupils’ progress towards the outcomes identified in their education, health and care (EHC) plans so support can be sharply focused in helping pupils to achieve these targets.

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Main findings

Since the last inspection, you have prioritised building a shared culture that identifies and meets the diverse needs of pupils. You have refined the curriculum and developed how the school manages behaviour and supports pupils’ communication. This means that pupils, including those with more complex communication, cognitive and sensory needs, are supported to be increasingly successful.

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Main findings

Now in its second year, the curriculum clearly sets out the skills, knowledge and vocabulary pupils should learn. You have worked closely with speech and language therapists to create resources that align with the curriculum. These are better adapted to match the varying starting points of different pupils. However, this is at an early stage. It is too soon to see the full impact of this work. You started to explore ways to reinforce learning at home and across subjects. For example, by reinforcing a knowledge of number during snack time by counting food or reading recipes in cooking. Your assessment processes are becoming more coherent. Staff are increasingly adept at identifying any gaps in pupils’ knowledge. However, more work is needed to ensure that these improved checks on pupils’ learning are used consistently well. This includes ensuring that these are linked to pupils’ outcomes identified in their EHC plans and in communicating these

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Main findings

You have made decisions, sought help and taken appropriate actions to sustain improvements. This includes training for staff to support them to meet the individual needs of pupils. As staffing is beginning to stabilise, there is a focus on supporting staff to deliver the refined curriculum with confidence, accuracy and precision.

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Main findings

Leaders at all levels are motivated and committed to the school’s improvement journey. There has been a real effort to involve parents through workshops and events. Those responsible for governance advocate for the school to secure additional resources and external help.

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Main findings

You have built a team of specialists to support pupils’ behaviour and communication. This has helped staff develop confidence and skills, leading to improved pupil behaviour and a more positive learning environment.

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Main findings

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of governors, the Department for Education’s regional director and the director of children’s services for Croydon. This letter will be published on the Ofsted reports website. Yours sincerely

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