Robert Browning Primary School

Robert Browning Primary School is a small, inclusive primary in an area of high deprivation, with well-above-average proportions of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including a resourced provision for pupils with autistic spectrum disorder. Safeguarding standards are met. Inspectors found the school broadly meeting expected standards, with particularly strong work in attendance and behaviour, inclusion, and personal development and wellbeing. Pupils are happy, feel safe, behave calmly and attend well, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND. Leaders are ambitious and provide extensive tailored support for individual needs, using therapies, external professionals and federation collaboration. The curriculum is broad and well planned, early years provide a positive start, and reading, writing and mathematics are prioritised. However, academic outcomes are weaker: not all pupils reach the expected national standard by the end of Year 6, and 2024/25 data show reading, writing and mathematics below national averages, with large gaps for disadvantaged pupils. Some children also do not meet the expected level of development by the end of Reception. Pupils who join mid-year often make rapid progress, but limited time means they do not always reach national expected levels. The main next step is to strengthen targeted work for individual pupils who are not meeting national expected levels, so they reach at least age-related expectations and barriers to learning are removed. Governance is secure, staff value federation support, and families are proud of the school.

Strengths

• Highly inclusive provision for pupils with SEND, including the Rainbow Class resourced provision
• Extensive tailored support for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with barriers to learning
• Positive attendance, including above-average attendance for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND
• Calm and positive behaviour with consistent routines and reduced behaviour incidents
• Strong personal development programme carefully matched to pupils' needs
• Wide range of enrichment activities, therapies and trips
• Broad, well-planned curriculum with clear links between subjects
• Sharp focus on reading, writing and mathematics, including phonics and vocabulary
• Supportive early years provision with a strong focus on speech and language
• Dedicated leadership, effective governance and productive federation collaboration
• Safeguarding standards met and pupils feel safe

Areas for Improvement

• Not all pupils reach the expected national standard by the end of Year 6
• 2024/25 outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics were below national averages
• Disadvantaged pupils' outcomes and disadvantage gaps are a significant concern, especially in 2024/25
• Some children do not meet the expected level of development by the end of Reception
• Leaders should continue targeted work for individual pupils below age-related expectations

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 Robert Browning Primary School attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.6% 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, 2.6% of pupils at Robert Browning Primary School 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 Robert Browning Primary School had 17.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.2% 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, 23.8% of pupils at Robert Browning Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 13.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 13 pupils.

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 Robert Browning Primary School received £12,447 and spent £12,623 for each of its 178 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £282,000 (£1,583 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 Southwark · Southwark local authority: places and applications

What is Robert Browning Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Robert Browning Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in February 2026.

When was Robert Browning Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Robert Browning Primary School was last inspected in February 2026.

How many pupils does Robert Browning Primary School have?

Robert Browning Primary School has 185 pupils on roll.

What age range does Robert Browning Primary School cover?

Robert Browning Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Robert Browning Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 43% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Robert Browning Primary School?

Robert Browning Primary School is at King and Queen Street, Walworth, London, SE17 1DQ.