Burnt Oak Junior School

About Burnt Oak Junior School

Burnt Oak Junior School in Bexley has an Ofsted rating of Outstanding, a grade it earned in its most recent graded inspection and confirmed in an ungraded visit in 2024. That puts it among just 11 primary schools in the local authority to hold that top mark, out of 61 total. But the school's headline academic metric tells a more complicated story. At Key Stage 2, 57% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That is ten percentage points below the Bexley local authority average of 67%, and it places Burnt Oak 43rd out of 55 primaries in the borough — in the bottom half locally and the bottom 50% nationally. The school's ranking score of 57 on this measure is a long way from the top three in the area, all of which score 92 or above. So while the Ofsted judgement is the highest possible, the raw attainment figures suggest the school is not currently matching the LA's typical performance at the expected standard.

Digging into the KS2 results, the picture is mixed. In reading, 82% of pupils reached the expected level and 20% achieved the higher standard, with an average scaled score of 105. Writing saw 79% at expected and 18% at greater depth. Maths was weaker: 64% at expected and 15% at the higher standard, with an average score of 102. Only 10% of pupils hit the higher standard across all three subjects. Progress scores are not available in the data, so it is not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points. The school's most recent graded Ofsted inspection, in 2018, rated both leadership and management and overall effectiveness as Outstanding. That was a significant improvement from the previous inspection in 2015, when the school was graded Requires Improvement. The 2024 ungraded inspection confirmed the Outstanding rating remains in place.

The school is a junior school for ages 7 to 11, with 245 pupils on roll against a capacity of 248, so it is very close to full. Only 5.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the national average. Parent View responses from 52 families are overwhelmingly positive: 98% of respondents would recommend the school, and 98% agreed or strongly agreed that their child is happy. Facilities include a sports hall, gymnasium, playing fields, music rooms, an ICT suite and a chapel. Clubs on offer include coding, chess, science club and drama, and sports range from football and netball to swimming and gymnastics. The school lists SEND provisions for seven areas, including dyslexia, speech and language needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. However, the Parent View data on SEND support is notably split: 67% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the school gives SEND children the support they need, but 34% disagreed or strongly disagreed, the highest negative response on the survey. This is a school that families clearly love, but the attainment data and the SEND feedback suggest it is worth a closer look if your child has additional needs or if hitting the expected standard is a priority.

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