St Nicholas School, Purley

Requires Improvement
Special
Community special school
Mixed
Ages 411
Montessori

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Miss Katie Goodwin
Pupils:273 / 265 capacity
LA:Croydon
Phone:02086604861
Address:Reedham Drive, Purley, CR8 4DS
Admissions:Not applicable
Status:open

Ofsted Rating

Requires Improvement

Overall

URN:101854
UKPRN:10077042
Diocese:Not applicable
Constituency:Croydon South
Urban/Rural:Urban: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

St Nicholas School has built a strong, supportive environment for pupils with complex needs. The school has invested in specialist teams and partnerships with therapists to create resources tailored to individual pupils, helping them succeed. Leadership is committed to involving parents and carers in their child's learning journey.

Key Strengths

  • Refined curriculum that clearly sets out skills, knowledge and vocabulary pupils should learn
  • Strong partnership with speech and language therapists to create better adapted resources
  • Improved behaviour support and communication systems leading to a more positive learning environment
  • Motivated leadership at all levels committed to school improvement
  • Increased parent engagement through workshops and events

Areas for Improvement

  • Early stage curriculum improvements need embedding fully across all pathways and subjects
  • Staff need stronger subject knowledge and confidence to deliver the refined curriculum effectively
  • Progress checks against EHC plan targets need further refinement and better communication with parents

St Nicholas School has made progress improving provision for pupils with diverse needs by refining the curriculum and developing better support for behaviour and communication. However, further work is needed to fully embed these improvements and ensure consistent progress tracking.

At a Glance

43.6%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

No

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty

SEN Provision

No

Special Measures

Primary Performance (KS2)

Academic year 2025/26

KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)

2024
2025
ReadingMathsWriting

Reading has remained stable at around 0%. Maths has remained stable at around 0%. Writing has remained stable at around 0%.

Class Sizes

0.0

Avg class size

0

Total classes

2024/25 academic year

Getting There

Train Stations

Reedham Station (Entrance)
302m · 5 min walk
Reedham (Surrey) Rail Station
313m · 5 min walk

Bus Stops

Beaumont Primary School (Stop RQ)
133m · 2 min walk
Burcott Road (->S)
297m · 5 min walk
Reedham Station (Stop RP)
307m · 5 min walk
Musgrove Close (Stop RH)
395m · 6 min walk
Brighton Road / Old Lodge Lane (Stop RC)
397m · 6 min walk
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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

103%

Over capacity

273 pupils

265 capacity

8 places over capacity

Area Demand Pressure - Purley

Low pressure
New homes approved:308
Projected new pupils:55

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Purley

Admissions Demand - Croydon

Low demand1.07x oversubscription

Places available

4,128

Applications

4,421

Got 1st preference

71.0%

Got preferred school

95.5%

Secondary admissions across Croydon (2025/26)

Inspection History(108)

Date not published by Ofsted
Requires Improvement
Date not published by Ofsted
Requires Improvement
Date not published by Ofsted
Requires Improvement

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SEN Provision

How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.

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Pupil Demographics

The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.

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Teachers & Staff

Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.

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Pupil Absence
2024/25

9.45516%

Overall absence

33.60324%

Persistent absence

247

Enrolments

Authorised7.4949%
Unauthorised1.96026%
Persistent (10%+)33.60324%
Severe (50%+)2.42915%

Absence trend

8.44248%
18/19
6.6226%
20/21
11.42961%
21/22
11.66309%
22/23
11.62844%
23/24
9.45516%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

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