Furzedown Primary School

Furzedown Primary School

Address: Beclands Road, Tooting, London, SW17 9TJ Unique reference number (URN): 101009

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The school has the highest expectations for all pupils. It has very well-established strategies in place to identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) swiftly and accurately at the earliest opportunity. The barriers that pupils face to learning are known by leaders at a deep level. Staff are trained in the most effective strategies to support pupils. Additional staff are also deployed effectively to help pupils to access learning and achieve.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Pupils with SEND are successful learners and take a full part in school life. The school has implemented improved systems to monitor the progress of pupils with SEND more closely. These approaches work very well. Leaders routinely assess the effectiveness of the individual support in place for pupils. As a result, this support is highly tailored to pupils' needs.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The needs of vulnerable pupils and disadvantaged pupils are also very well understood by all staff. The school uses its additional funding strategically to address any challenges that may affect pupils' outcomes. Pupils known to social services receive bespoke care to ensure that they thrive at school. The school works in close partnership with parents and carers and outside agencies to ensure that any barriers that pupils face are removed at every opportunity.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The school ensures that the wide range of enrichment activities, such as clubs, educational trips and leadership roles, are available to all pupils. Access arrangements and reasonable adjustments are carefully assessed to ensure that pupils with SEND and those with medical needs can take full part in the rich opportunities on offer.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders at all levels strive to make decisions in the best interests of pupils. They are determined to provide pupils with the best care and support, while facilitating pupils' academic achievement. Leaders support the most vulnerable pupils very well, including those who face extra challenges. Pupils get the help they need and thrive in the school's caring community alongside their peers. Relationships with parents and carers are carefully nurtured. A real sense of belonging and community permeates the whole school.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders know the school extremely well and have a clear vision for success. They have identified the right improvement priorities. These priorities are ambitious and reflect leaders' consistently high aspirations for all pupils. Leaders, governors and staff work collaboratively to ensure rigour across all areas of the school's work. They act swiftly on improvements when needed. Governors are highly supportive of the school's work and share the vision of school leaders. They perform their statutory duties with care and a high degree of competence. They work closely with leaders to provide both appropriate support and rigorous challenge.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Staff thoroughly enjoy working at the school. They appreciate the school's open culture. Senior leaders are approachable and visible. Professional learning for staff is of a very high

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Expected standard

quality and is responsive to pupils' needs. Leaders pay close attention to providing staff with opportunities for professional growth. This includes, for example, encouraging staff to take responsibility for their own learning and promoting a reflective and collaborative approach to staff development. Those leaders responsible for different subject areas take a highly strategic approach to subject-specific evaluation and development.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Pupils throughout the school benefit from a personal development programme that gives them skills for life. It is carefully tailored to meet the needs of all pupils, including those who face additional barriers. Pupils develop a keen sense of citizenship. They speak with confidence about the importance of democracy, tolerance and helping others. Pupils write their own manifesto and petition for votes to be elected to the many leadership roles on offer. The school council makes meaningful changes to enhance the lives of pupils. Activities such as ‘enterprise week’ encourage an entrepreneurial spirit and teach pupils about budgeting, sales and marketing. Annual performances allow pupils to write their own scripts, explore their talents on the stage and gain confidence in public speaking.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

The school offers an impressive range of after-school clubs to celebrate and enhance pupils' talents and interests. These include, for example, many sports, arts and music activities as well as more bespoke clubs such as street dance, radio and podcasts. A well-planned series of educational visits complement the curriculum and further boost pupils' cultural awareness. Pupils visit different places of worship and galleries, and take part in a series of exciting residential trips. The school is relentless in ensuring access for all pupils to the opportunities on offer. This includes a small number of trips that take place in the school holidays, such as to the zoo, for pupils who would most benefit.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

The personal, social, health and economic education curriculum is well embedded and consistently delivered across the school. Leaders continue to develop this curriculum to make it increasingly relevant to the school community. Pupils develop an impressive depth of understanding across themes that include understanding emotions, healthy relationships and consent. They learn how to keep themselves safe online and how to assess the authenticity of online content. As a result, they are very well prepared for life beyond the school gates.

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Achievement Expected standard

Pupils build a secure body of knowledge across English, mathematics and wider subject areas as they progress through the school. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities achieve the same successes as their peers. For the most part, pupils produce work that is of high quality, and they confidently make links between different ideas and concepts. At times, pupils are less secure about how subject knowledge connects to the deeper concepts that underpin their learning. Pupils typically achieve well in national examinations. Disadvantaged pupils achieve in line with their peers nationally. Outcomes in reading and writing are generally a strength of the school and often exceed national averages. Mathematics outcomes have been comparatively lower and more variable compared to reading and writing outcomes. Leaders have made well-considered improvements to further strengthen pupils' achievement in

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Achievement Expected standard

mathematics. While the full impact of these improvements is not currently reflected in published outcomes, improving attainment is evident in the classroom, particularly in the early years. As pupils enter Year 1 and beyond, most have the foundational knowledge in mathematics and literacy they need to succeed, including accuracy and fluency in reading.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders take a meticulous approach to the analysis of attendance. They have recently overhauled their systems for managing attendance, including addressing persistent absences. The strong, positive relationships that exist between the school and parents and carers assist in breaking down the barriers to regular attendance that some families face. The school's approaches have, overall, had a positive and swift impact on many pupils' attendance. Nevertheless, leaders accurately prioritise the need to ensure that improvements are fully and consistently embedded so that attendance is broadly in line with national figures. This includes securing further improvements in the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Pupils are very well behaved thanks to the highly embedded routines they experience and the keen sense of belonging they feel. Children in the early years quickly learn the habits of positive behaviour they need for future success. They learn to share, listen to instructions and take care of one another. Pupils are encouraged to behave well through different rewards that recognise positive behaviours. The school helps pupils to gain a mature understanding of discrimination and bullying. Pupils are confident that bullying is rare in the school and would be resolved quickly if it happened. Leaders meticulously analyse patterns in behaviour to ensure a wealth of support to help pupils to meet their high expectations. This includes suitable adaptations for those pupils who might need them.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The school has done work in recent years to further develop the curriculum, particularly in the early years. Although this work is ongoing, leaders have identified the key knowledge and skills that pupils need to know in each subject area. Recent improvement work means that the mathematics curriculum is better understood by teachers and delivered more consistently.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Overall, teaching delivers the curriculum well, and pupils learn successfully. Teachers have a secure knowledge of the curriculum for the subjects they teach. Their explanations are typically clear with an emphasis on new vocabulary. Leaders have developed effective routines across the school to check pupils' understanding. At present, however, there are small variations in how well teaching identifies gaps in pupils' learning and addresses misconceptions.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders are working to establish further consistency in the teaching of foundational knowledge, such as in the teaching of early reading, early writing and mathematics. Foundational knowledge is typically taught with clarity. Word reading, spelling and handwriting are largely taught systematically and effectively. The school has an established programme for the teaching of phonics. Pupils who fall behind in the reading programme are supported well to catch up. Pupils typically learn to express their ideas with increasingly sophisticated vocabulary. The school is aware that some pupils struggle to express their knowledge clearly and, and as result, leaders continue to focus on promoting oracy.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well to access the curriculum. Teachers know pupils' needs accurately and make appropriate adaptations to teaching and resources in response. Additional staff are also used well to help pupils to access learning.

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Early years Expected standard

Leaders take well-targeted, timely actions to secure further improvement in the early years provision. They have identified the key knowledge and skills they want children to learn as they progress from the Nursery into Reception in readiness for Year 1. Staff know the individual needs of children well. They receive regular professional learning to better understand effective ways to help individual children learn.

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Early years Expected standard

Ensuring that children build their communication skills and vocabulary is prioritised as soon as children join the Nursery Year. For example, children develop their language skills and early mathematics through songs, stories and rhymes. Children in Reception are quickly started on the school's phonics programme. For the most part, staff help children to develop their language and communication skills well. They model sounds accurately and help children to develop their early writing. Staff generally have meaningful conversations with children that support the development of vocabulary, knowledge and social skills. Sometimes, these interactions between staff and children can be less purposeful and therefore less effective at promoting children's development.

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Early years Expected standard

Children are well prepared for Year 1. They learn healthy routines to help them in the future, including learning about healthy eating, good hygiene and positive behaviour. Staff encourage children to learn, play and share together. Staff are appropriately trained in promoting children's welfare, including safer eating and care practices appropriate to the age and stage of the children.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Positive relationships are at the heart of this thriving community school. Pupils are happy here. They feel a strong sense of belonging and community. Pupils, staff, parents and carers all feel valued. They are proud of their school. Behaviour is a considerable strength of the school. Older pupils are role models to younger pupils. They have the opportunity to assume leadership roles such as becoming a 'digital champion'. These pupils enjoy helping their peers throughout the school to feel included and valued. As a result of this caring ethos, the sound of harmonious play and enthusiastic learning fills the school. Pupils are curious learners. The re-imagined curriculum across subjects has quickly been established and is typically taught well. Teachers use a range of effective strategies to help pupils to learn and remember knowledge. Pupils, on the whole, achieve well, particularly in reading and writing. Pupils' achievement in mathematics is also an improving picture. Pupils

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils are put first in this school. The individual needs of pupils are quickly identified so they receive any help that they need.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Children quickly settle and are happy in the early years. They enjoy the range of activities on offer that help them to develop their early knowledge and skills. For example, they enjoy climbing and jumping in the improved outdoor area. Staff help children to be successful at the activities they try. Children are encouraged to develop their attention levels and gain increasing confidence and independence.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Taking on responsibility is an important part of school life for pupils. Pupils of all ages enjoy taking leading roles in the school. For example, the school council rallies pupil voice to engineer change in the school. 'Inclusion champions' write letters to new pupils to make them feel welcome. Older pupils read regularly with younger pupils. Parents and carers describe the school as being like a family.

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Next steps

The school should further embed practice to ensure a consistently effective approach to the teaching of foundational knowledge across the school, including early reading, early writing and mathematics. Leaders should build on their work to ensure that all pupils across the school are supported to develop the listening, language and communication skills they need to articulate their ideas fully and engage in meaningful discussions. Leaders should ensure that the new systems to monitor and improve attendance of key groups of pupils are securely embedded and have the intended impact on attendance over time.

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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors in this school is Rebecca Wilson.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection took place on 9 and 10 September 2026.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty's Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with senior leaders, the chair of governors, other governors, staff and pupils during the inspection.

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Team inspectors:

Robin Bosher, Ofsted Inspector Lascelles Haughton, His Majesty's Inspector Lisa Farrow, His Majesty's Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This was the data available at the time of the full inspection, taken from different sources . More recent data may have been published since the full inspection took place.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The inspector(s) used this data during the full inspection on 9 September 2026

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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What does this mean?

The school runs a before- and after-school provision.

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What does this mean?

The school does not currently make use of alternative provision.

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What does this mean?

Headteacher: Dionne Morris The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational needs support at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English indices of deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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average

2024/25 (final) 68% 62% Close to average

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average

2023/24 (final) 63% 61% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 65% 60% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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average

2023/24 (final) 80% 74% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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average

2023/24 (final) 76% 72% Close to average

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2023/24 (final) 75% 73% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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average

2022/23 (final) 64% 60% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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average

2023/24 (final) 50% 58% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 64% 58% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2022/23 (final) 64% 59% Close to average

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average

‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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average

‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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national average

2024/25 (3 term) 5.3% 5.2% Close to average

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 5.0% 5.5% Close to average

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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national average

2024/25 (3 term) 13.1% 13.0% Close to average

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 15.1% 14.6% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 16.8% 16.2% Close to average

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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