Bursted Wood Primary School

Bursted Wood Primary School is a large primary school in Bexleyheath and part of the Bursted Wood Primary School Academy Trust. A full inspection in June 2026 found the school performing strongly across all inspected areas, with safeguarding requirements met. Pupils achieve highly: outcomes at the end of key stage 2 are consistently above national averages, including for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, and phonics and multiplication checks are significantly above national figures. Teaching and the curriculum are ambitious and well delivered. Pupils build secure knowledge, read widely and receive effective support to close gaps. Behaviour and attendance are very strong, pupils feel safe and respected, and the inclusive culture ensures pupils with additional needs are well supported. Early years provision is well structured and prepares children well for Year 1, while leadership, governance and professional development are highly effective. The only clear improvement point is to strengthen support for fine motor skills and early writing so that children and pupils develop greater independence and more accurate letter formation in handwriting. Overall, this is a high-performing, inclusive school with very positive outcomes and a strong culture of safeguarding.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve very highly in national examinations at the end of key stage 2.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND meet ambitious expectations and achieve well.
• Attainment in the phonics screening and multiplication tables checks is significantly above national averages.
• Teaching secures essential knowledge and helps pupils draw on prior learning, especially in reading and mathematics.
• Staff identify and close gaps swiftly through highly effective interventions.
• Attendance is very high, with leaders acting quickly on absence patterns and removing barriers.
• Pupils' behaviour and attitudes are very positive; they are polite, respectful, kind and focused.
• The curriculum is ambitious, clearly sequenced and reflects the school community.
• The phonics programme is delivered consistently and reading is integrated across the curriculum.
• Early years provision is ambitious, well structured and prepares children very well for Year 1.
• The school has a highly inclusive culture with precise support for vulnerable pupils.
• Leaders use additional funding effectively, including an 'enabling passport' tracker for disadvantaged pupils.
• Leadership and governance are strong, with robust safeguarding and constructive trustee challenge.
• Staff benefit from a high-quality professional learning culture and feel valued.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of enrichment, leadership roles, trips and clubs.
• Pupils develop strong personal, social and health awareness and know how to stay safe.
• Pupils are very well prepared for the next stage of education.

Areas for Improvement

• Early writing and fine motor tasks are sometimes not consistent enough to support children's handwriting.
• Some pupils' books do not show sustained accuracy in letter formation.

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 Bursted Wood Primary School attended 95.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.2% 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, 0.2% of pupils at Bursted Wood Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Bursted Wood Primary School had 22.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.6% 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, 11.4% of pupils at Bursted Wood Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.4% 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 2024–25 Bursted Wood Primary School received £5,797 and spent £5,728 for each of its 625 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £513,000 (£821 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

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What is Bursted Wood Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bursted Wood Primary School is Strong standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Bursted Wood Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bursted Wood Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Bursted Wood Primary School have?

Bursted Wood Primary School has 621 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bursted Wood Primary School cover?

Bursted Wood Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 73% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Bursted Wood Primary School?

Bursted Wood Primary School is at Swanbridge Road, Bexleyheath, Kent, DA7 5BS.