Beecroft Garden Primary

Beecroft Garden Primary is a welcoming and inclusive community primary school where pupils are happy, feel safe and attend regularly. Inspectors judged the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management to be good. The school is ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), who are well supported. Pupils engage enthusiastically in learning, and the school has notable strengths in early reading and phonics, English and mathematics, and in art and music enrichment. However, early years provision requires improvement. Apart from phonics, activities are not routinely designed to support children's learning, adult interactions do not consistently develop language and communication, and children are not as well prepared for Year 1 as they should be. In a few subjects, such as geography and history, the curriculum is not clearly sequenced or consistently taught, so pupils sometimes struggle to recall key knowledge. Behaviour is generally positive, but behaviour management strategies are not always applied consistently, and some pupils do not listen attentively or fully participate. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and no overall effectiveness grade was given under the current framework. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, leadership is mindful of staff workload, and governors have a clear understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development.

Strengths

• Welcoming and inclusive community where pupils are happy, feel safe and attend regularly.
• Ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND, who receive precise support.
• Strong phonics and early reading provision, with targeted catch-up for pupils who fall behind.
• Well-ordered English and mathematics curriculum that helps pupils build deep knowledge in Years 1 to 6.
• Pupils engage enthusiastically in learning and generally behave positively.
• Wide range of enrichment clubs, community projects and pupil responsibilities.
• Rich art and music provision, including instrument lessons and performances.
• Personal development is well supported, including British values and leadership opportunities.
• Leadership is committed to a broad, balanced curriculum and is mindful of staff workload.
• Governors have a clear understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Early years provision requires improvement; activities, apart from phonics, are not routinely designed to support children's learning.
• Adult interactions in early years do not consistently develop children's language and communication, and curriculum expectations lack clarity.
• Children in early years are not as well prepared for Year 1 as they should be.
• Curriculum in a few subjects, such as geography and history, is not clearly sequenced or consistently taught, leaving gaps in pupils' knowledge.
• Behaviour management strategies are not consistently applied, and some pupils do not listen attentively or fully participate.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Beecroft Garden Primary attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.9% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.5% of pupils at Beecroft Garden Primary were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Beecroft Garden Primary had 19.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 24.3% of pupils at Beecroft Garden Primary were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Beecroft Garden Primary received £9,714 and spent £9,754 for each of its 382 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £309,000 (-£809 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Lewisham · Lewisham local authority: places and applications

What is Beecroft Garden Primary's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Beecroft Garden Primary is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Beecroft Garden Primary last inspected by Ofsted?

Beecroft Garden Primary was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Beecroft Garden Primary have?

Beecroft Garden Primary has 382 pupils on roll.

What age range does Beecroft Garden Primary cover?

Beecroft Garden Primary for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Beecroft Garden Primary's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 69% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Beecroft Garden Primary?

Beecroft Garden Primary is at Beecroft Road, London, SE4 2BS.