Oliver Goldsmith Primary School

Oliver Goldsmith Primary School is a highly inclusive, welcoming school where pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are quickly identified and well supported. Safeguarding standards are met, and inclusion is a standout strength: staff adapt provision thoughtfully, use pupil premium funding strategically and work with external professionals so that pupils overcome barriers and make secure progress from their starting points. Overall, pupils benefit from an ambitious curriculum and typically achieve well from where they start, although published Year 6 outcomes are below national averages. This is set in context: many pupils join during the academic year, and pupils new to English or with SEND make significant progress. Behaviour is very good, attendance is a high priority, reading and phonics are well embedded, and leadership, governance, staff development and pastoral care are strong. Early years gives children a positive start. Notable areas for improvement are consistent correction of handwriting, sharper use of persistent absence analysis to target support, more rigorous checking of understanding and addressing gaps across all subjects, and a more consistent enrichment and trips offer for all year groups.

Strengths

• Highly inclusive culture where every child belongs
• Quick identification of individual needs and effective support
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND succeed through thoughtful adaptations
• Strong strategic use of pupil premium funding
• High-quality professional development for staff
• Effective partnerships with external professionals
• Pupils behave very well and lessons are calm and purposeful
• Bullying is rare and discrimination is not tolerated
• Reading and systematic synthetic phonics are well embedded
• Ambitious curriculum builds knowledge over time
• Strong leadership vision, governance and staff wellbeing
• Effective pastoral support and personal development curriculum
• Pupils develop a secure understanding of British values and protected characteristics
• Attendance is a high priority with rapid improvements for individual pupils

Areas for Improvement

• Handwriting and letter formation errors are not consistently identified and corrected
• Analysis of persistent absence does not consistently target support to individual needs
• Assessment is not consistently rigorous across all subjects, so some gaps are not addressed quickly
• Enrichment, including educational trips and visits, is not consistent across all year groups
• Published Year 6 outcomes are below national averages, though progress from starting points is secure

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 Oliver Goldsmith Primary School attended 91.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 33.0% 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 Oliver Goldsmith 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 Oliver Goldsmith Primary School had 19.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.7% 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, 17.3% of pupils at Oliver Goldsmith Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.6% 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 Oliver Goldsmith Primary School received £10,292 and spent £10,205 for each of its 349 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £280,000 (£803 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 Oliver Goldsmith Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Oliver Goldsmith Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Oliver Goldsmith Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Oliver Goldsmith Primary School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Oliver Goldsmith Primary School have?

Oliver Goldsmith Primary School has 358 pupils on roll.

What age range does Oliver Goldsmith Primary School cover?

Oliver Goldsmith Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Oliver Goldsmith Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 51% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Oliver Goldsmith Primary School?

Oliver Goldsmith Primary School is at Peckham Road, Camberwell, London, SE5 8UH.