SchoolFacts.uk

South Norwood Primary

Primary · London · SE25 5QP

Data updated

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Good

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 10 January 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

356 pupils · 85% of 420 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy sponsor led
Age range
4–11
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
39% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
52.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
11.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
7.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
https://thepioneeracademy.co.uk/south-norwood-primary/
URN
146543

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 43 families named it first for 56 Reception places, 0.77 first choices per place. Its last Reception place offered on distance for 2025 entry went to 1.09 miles; distance decided places in 1 of the 12 years of Reception rounds we hold, 2015 to 2026. Ofsted last graded it Good on 10 January 2023, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 5.8% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

0.77 first-choice applications per place

56 places offered · 43 first-choice applications · usually has places

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2025 entry, the most recent year with a distance-only cutoff) lived within 1.09 miles

measured in a straight line.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

38 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
63%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
5%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
103
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
102
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school63%
Median of its 12 closest peers60%
Croydon average70.2%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is in line with the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
Co-op Academy PrincevilleBradford · 180 miles awayGood41%
The Crescent Primary SchoolCroydon · under 1 mile awayGood55%
Werneth Primary SchoolOldham · 171 miles awayGood60%
Elfrida Primary SchoolLondon · 3 miles awayNeeds attention47%
North Beckton Primary SchoolLondon · 10 miles awayGood74%
Marland Hill Community Primary SchoolRochdale · 176 miles awayGood60%
Nova Primary AcademyPeterborough · 83 miles awayGood70%
Orchard AcademyMilton Keynes · 53 miles awayNeeds attention52%
Cedars Manor SchoolHarrow · 19 miles awayRequires improvement54%
Crocketts Community Primary SchoolSmethwick · 111 miles awayGood65%
Drew Primary SchoolLondon · 9 miles awayGood76%
Liberty PrimaryMitcham · 4 miles awayGood64%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Special educational needs

Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.

Provision type: SEN unit.

SEN unit
25 of 19 places taken full, or over capacity

Unit places come from the school census and describe the position when it was taken, not today. Confirm with the local authority before relying on them.

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

Black African 21% (Croydon 15%, England 5%) · White British 14% (Croydon 22%, England 60%) · Any other Mixed background 12% (Croydon 8%, England 3%) · Any other White background 11% (Croydon 9%, England 7%) · Any other Black background 11% (Croydon 3%, England 1%) · Any other ethnic group 10% (Croydon 3%, England 3%) · Black Caribbean 7% (Croydon 7%, England 1%) · Asian Pakistani 3% (Croydon 5%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 3% (Croydon 5%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 2% (Croydon 2%, England 1%) · Any other Asian background 2% (Croydon 6%, England 2%) · Asian Indian 2% (Croydon 8%, England 4%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (Croydon 1%, England 2%) · Not recorded 1% (Croydon 2%, England 1%) · Asian Chinese 1% (Croydon 1%, England 1%)

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
5.8%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
17.8%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

1.23 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Croydon: 1.32 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
19.8
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

84% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 11% moved to another state school · 5% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, primary academies: 0.3% vacant, 0.32% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

75% of teachers took sickness absence, 8 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £50,604; 9.5% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£9,181
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 75% (77%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 8% (8%) · supplies and services 12% (9%) · educational supplies 2% (4%) · bought-in professional services 2% (2%) · catering 6% (5%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £1,000; in-year balance +£45,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher44.1%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications14.8%18.1%
In managerial or professional work31.8%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways25.7%18.1%
Residents in very good health54.8%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier36%62.3%
Social housing19.4%17.1%
Privately rented44.5%20.5%
Detached houses2%22.9%
Flats65%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms10.1%21.1%
Households with no car or van46.7%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01001191 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£400,000739 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£300,000–£485,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (7)£450,000
Semi-detached (60)£494,000
Terraced (358)£470,000
Flat (314)£293,000

Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Inside the Reception cutoff distance (1.75 km, 2025 entry): 1,922 sales, median £410,000. The homes that would have got a child in that year, at the straight-line distance the school last filled to.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
10an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
32an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
132an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
22an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools