Carpenters Primary School

Carpenters Primary School is a community primary school in Stratford, London, providing education for pupils aged 3 to 11. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it took place as the school is moving from two-form entry to one-form entry. Inspectors found the school performing well across all key areas, with effective safeguarding and a positive, inclusive culture. Pupils are well cared for, feel safe and behave well, and relationships between staff and pupils are warm and respectful. The school’s main strengths include an ambitious and broad curriculum, strong early reading and phonics, well-led SEND provision, and a rich early years environment. Pupils benefit from a wide range of clubs, trips, responsibilities and enrichment opportunities, and staff feel valued and supported. Leaders and governors work together effectively and check the impact of the school’s work carefully. The main areas for improvement are the consistency of adaptations for pupils with SEND and the implementation of the curriculum in some foundation subjects. In a small number of cases, teaching is not adapted well enough for pupils with SEND, and in some recently reviewed foundation subjects, teaching does not always align closely with the intended sequence, which can make it harder for pupils to recall prior knowledge and make secure connections.

Strengths

• Warm, respectful relationships and calm, purposeful classrooms
• High expectations for behaviour that pupils understand and meet
• Inclusive culture that reflects pupils’ languages, heritage and experiences
• Ambitious, broad curriculum with clear subject knowledge and sequencing
• Strong early reading and phonics, with quick support for pupils who need to catch up
• Early identification and well-led provision for pupils with SEND
• Strong early years provision, especially in communication, language, literacy and mathematics
• Pupils behave well, attend regularly and play well together
• Rich wider development programme, including clubs, trips and pupil responsibilities
• Effective support for pupils’ safety, health and preparation for life in modern Britain
• Staff feel valued and supported, with consideration for workload and well-being
• Governors and leaders check impact and work together effectively

Areas for Improvement

• Adaptations for pupils with SEND are inconsistent in quality, so some pupils do not learn the curriculum as well as they could
• Curriculum implementation in some foundation subjects is less developed, leading to uneven recall and connections in learning

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 Carpenters Primary School attended 94.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.5% 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, 0.6% of pupils at Carpenters 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 Carpenters Primary School had 19.5 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, 19.0% of pupils at Carpenters Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 8.2% 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 Carpenters Primary School received £11,318 and spent £11,815 for each of its 295 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £20,000 (-£68 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).

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• Secondary Schools

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What is Carpenters Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Carpenters Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Carpenters Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Carpenters Primary School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Carpenters Primary School have?

Carpenters Primary School has 306 pupils on roll.

What age range does Carpenters Primary School cover?

Carpenters Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 62% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Carpenters Primary School?

Carpenters Primary School is at Friendship Way, Stratford, London, E15 2JQ.