Kensington Avenue Primary School

Kensington Avenue Primary School is currently rated as requiring improvement overall. While pupils report enjoying their time at this diverse school, they face challenges in achieving their academic potential, particularly in certain subjects where teaching is inconsistent. Despite positive relationships and a caring environment, issues with pupil attendance remain a concern, impacting the overall educational experience. The school is under the leadership of Clare Cranham and has not been previously inspected under section 5, suggesting a lack of recent oversight. As a part of The Manor Trust, additional support and resources may be available to address these challenges.

Strengths

• Positive relationships between staff and pupils
• Engagement in the local community through various projects
• Effective support for pupils with SEND through external agencies
• Well-designed personal, health, social, and economic education curriculum
• Dedicated staff support for managing workload and well-being

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent curriculum knowledge across subjects
• Lack of effective checks on pupil learning
• Insufficient attention to the needs of SEND pupils and weaker readers
• High levels of absenteeism among pupils
• Limited oversight of school curriculum by leadership

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 Kensington Avenue Primary School attended 94.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.4% 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, 0.4% of pupils at Kensington Avenue 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 Kensington Avenue Primary School had 19.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.1% 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, 12.0% of pupils at Kensington Avenue Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 11.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has a SEN unit with 33 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 2023–24 Kensington Avenue Primary School received £7,815 and spent £7,996 for each of its 508 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,691,000 (£3,328 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Wandle Learning Trust, income was £9,632 and spending £9,032 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.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Croydon · Croydon local authority: places and applications

Kensington Avenue Primary School is part of Wandle Learning Trust, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• Norbury High School for Girls Thornton Heath
• Paxton Academy Sports And Science Thornton Heath
• Ravenstone Primary School London
• Fircroft Primary School London
• Chestnut Grove Academy London
• Swaffield School London
• Chesterton Primary School London
• Thomson House School London
• Hellingly Community Primary School Hailsham
• Grovelands Community Primary School Hailsham

What is Kensington Avenue Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Kensington Avenue Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in May 2024.

When was Kensington Avenue Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Kensington Avenue Primary School was last inspected in May 2024.

How many pupils does Kensington Avenue Primary School have?

Kensington Avenue Primary School has 459 pupils on roll.

What age range does Kensington Avenue Primary School cover?

Kensington Avenue Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 64% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Kensington Avenue Primary School?

Kensington Avenue Primary School is at Kensington Avenue, Thornton Heath, Surrey, CR7 8BT.