Purley Oaks Primary School

Purley Oaks Primary is a welcoming and caring school that provides a good quality of education. The school fosters a strong sense of community, with staff dedicated to ensuring that all pupils are safe, happy, and engaged in their learning. Pupils benefit from a broad curriculum, diverse extracurricular activities, and effective support for personal development. Although most aspects of the school's performance are strong, there are notable areas identified for improvement, particularly regarding the depth of teaching in certain subjects and the adaptation of the curriculum for students with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders are taking proactive steps to address these concerns.

Strengths

• Strong commitment from staff to promote a safe and happy learning environment.
• Broad range of subjects and extracurricular activities offered.
• Effective sequencing of lessons helps pupils build knowledge progressively.
• Students show a love for music and are engaged in arts education.
• Strong parental satisfaction with the school.
• High staff morale and respect for school leadership.
• Effective safeguarding measures in place.

Areas for Improvement

• Need for improved teaching of phonics, especially for early readers.
• Inconsistent adaptation of the curriculum to meet the needs of pupils with SEND.
• French, design and technology, and geography are not taught in depth.

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 Purley Oaks Primary School attended 93.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 23.1% 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 Purley Oaks 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 Purley Oaks Primary School had 20.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.8% 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, 13.7% of pupils at Purley Oaks Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.6% 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 Purley Oaks Primary School received £8,185 and spent £7,867 for each of its 635 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £800,000 (£1,261 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 Croydon · Croydon local authority: places and applications

What is Purley Oaks Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Purley Oaks Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Purley Oaks Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Purley Oaks Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Purley Oaks Primary School have?

Purley Oaks Primary School has 642 pupils on roll.

What age range does Purley Oaks Primary School cover?

Purley Oaks Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Purley Oaks Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Purley Oaks Primary School?

Purley Oaks Primary School is at Bynes Road, South Croydon, Surrey, CR2 0PR.