Chipstead Valley Primary School Review 2026: Outstanding Croydon Primary with Nursery and Inclusive Provision

This is a large, three-form entry primary where high academic expectations sit alongside a strong inclusion offer. The school’s most recent full inspection in May 2024 judged it Outstanding, with the report describing a happy, caring, inclusive culture and highlighting the specially resourced provision for pupils with physical disabilities and medical needs.

Families also notice the practicalities. A two-year-old provision sits alongside Nursery and the main school, and there is structured wraparound care. Day-to-day, that makes it work for households juggling working patterns, while the admissions picture shows sustained demand for Reception places.

Leadership has recently changed. Kate Duncan became headteacher in September 2025, after the May 2024 inspection that took place under the previous headteacher, Clare Rackham.

The tone here is purposeful, but not narrow. Official evaluation describes pupils as proud of their school and their achievements, with inclusion visible in everyday play and routines, including pupils who attend the specially resourced provision. That matters, because this is not a small village primary where everything runs on familiarity alone. It is a big, structured operation, and it needs systems that work for a wide range of children.

The school sits within PACE Academy Trust, which provides an additional layer of governance and shared practice. For parents, the practical implication is that policies, curriculum planning and staff development are likely to be shaped both by the school’s own leadership and by trust-wide approaches.

Nursery provision is not an add-on, it is embedded. The school’s admissions policy describes a 63-place nursery for 2 to 4 year olds with 15 and 30 hour entitlements, and the school uses the name Treehouse for its two-year-old provision. The combination tends to shape the community: many children and parents know the school well before Reception, and transition can be calmer when routines are already familiar.

The leadership transition is worth understanding in context. The headteacher at the time of the May 2024 inspection was Clare Rackham, and the current headteacher, Kate Duncan, took up post in September 2025. Parents considering the school in 2026 are therefore looking at a school with a very recent handover at the top, but with an inspection baseline that is current and strongly positive.

Academic outcomes are consistently strong against England benchmarks, and the detail behind the headline is reassuring rather than spiky.

In 2024, 88.33% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics combined. The England average was 62%, so the gap is substantial. At the higher standard, 34% achieved greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics, compared with an England average of 8%. For families, this suggests a school that is doing well both at securing secure foundations and at stretching higher-attaining pupils.

Scaled scores also point in the same direction. Reading and mathematics were both 108, and grammar, punctuation and spelling was 107. Those are the kinds of figures you typically see in schools where subject knowledge and practice routines are well-established across year groups.

Rankings provide another lens. Ranked 2197th in England and 18th in Croydon for primary outcomes, this places the school above the England average, comfortably within the top 25% of schools in England (10th to 25th percentile). These are proprietary FindMySchool rankings based on official data, designed for like-for-like comparison.

What those numbers mean in everyday terms is less about a single cohort having a good year, and more about consistent delivery. For children who like structure, clear routines and explicit teaching, the data points to an environment where progress is likely to be well-tracked and gaps addressed early. For children who need a slower pace or who become anxious around tests, parents should ask how support is organised across the year, not only in Year 6.

The curriculum is framed around a set of cross-cutting themes developed within the trust, including technology, outdoor learning, global learning, and safeguarding and equality. That kind of framing is useful when it shows up in classroom routines rather than in posters. Here, the intent is to weave those threads through subjects rather than treating them as occasional projects.

For parents, the key question is what teaching looks like when the school is aiming for both high attainment and inclusion. The May 2024 inspection information notes the presence of a specially resourced provision for pupils with physical disabilities and medical needs, plus provision for two-year-olds. That combination usually requires clear classroom organisation, consistent behaviour expectations, and adults who are confident adapting learning without lowering ambition.

Early years provision shapes teaching priorities across the school. Starting younger often allows staff to build speech and language routines, attention habits and early number sense before Reception. The school’s nursery model includes funded entitlements and a menu of session patterns to support working families. The important implication for parents is to ask about progression from Treehouse and Nursery into Reception, including how the school handles summer-born children and how it supports pupils who need extra help with readiness for whole-class learning.

For older pupils, the results suggest that reading, writing and mathematics are taught in a way that produces secure outcomes at both expected and higher standards. If you are visiting, useful questions include how reading practice is organised, how writing is taught across subjects, and how the school supports children who are ready to move beyond age-related expectations.

As a state primary, progression is mainly shaped by local authority admissions and the family’s home address, rather than by a guaranteed pathway.

Most children will move on to local secondary schools serving Croydon and the surrounding area, with families choosing between comprehensive options and, for some, selective routes in neighbouring areas. The practical point is that parents should begin mapping likely secondary options early, then check how admissions criteria interact with their address. FindMySchool’s Map Search can help families understand the distance factors that often determine offers, especially when popular schools are oversubscribed.

The school does not publish a single named destination list for pupils leaving Year 6, which is typical for primary schools. Families who want continuity of travel time and friendship groups should look at local admissions arrangements alongside transport considerations, then sanity-check that plan against real application patterns each year.

Demand is strong for Reception. In the most recent admissions data available here, there were 309 applications for 90 offers, which equates to 3.43 applications per place. The school is recorded as oversubscribed. For parents, the implication is straightforward: if you are planning on Reception entry, treat this as a competitive local option and make contingency choices you would also be happy with.

Reception entry is run through Pan-London coordinated admissions. The school’s published admissions policy for 2026 entry confirms an admission number of 90 and notes that a supplementary information form is not required.

For September 2026 Reception entry, Croydon’s published timetable sets the statutory closing date as 15 January 2026. Offers are scheduled for 16 April 2026, with an acceptance deadline of 30 April 2026. As of 27 January 2026, the closing date has passed, so late applicants should read the local authority guidance on how late preferences are handled.

Nursery admissions are handled separately from Reception. The school’s own admissions page states that nursery application forms (including for two-year-olds and three-year-olds) should be returned by 15 January 2026 for the relevant cycle, with late applications held on a waiting list and further offers made later if places arise.

The inclusion pathway is also clear. The admissions policy explains that the Enhanced Learning Provision for pupils with physical difficulties and medical needs has places allocated by Croydon’s SEND team, and these places are additional to the main school’s published admission number.

Pastoral strength here is closely tied to inclusion. The May 2024 inspection information describes a caring, inclusive culture and explicitly references pupils in the specially resourced provision being part of school life. That matters for any family, not only those applying for specialist places, because it usually correlates with strong routines around belonging, behaviour and peer relationships.

The school also publishes trust-level policies on key areas such as bullying and discrimination. For parents, the helpful angle is to ask how policy translates into daily practice: how staff distinguish friendship issues from bullying, how incidents are logged, and how communication with parents is handled when something goes wrong.

Safeguarding is positioned as a core thread in the curriculum approach, alongside equality and diversity. That tends to show up in PSHE-style teaching, online safety education, and consistent expectations for conduct and reporting.

The club programme is structured and varied across year groups, with both staff-led and external options. The published clubs page for Spring 2026 includes chess running for Year 1 to Year 6. Older internal club lists show the kind of breadth families can expect across a year, including KS1 Choir, KS2 Choir, Early Computing Skills, athletics, sketching and multi-sports. The implication is that children can find a niche whether they lean towards performance, sport or practical skills.

Music provision includes optional instrumental tuition routes. The school’s music page references drum kit teaching delivered through Croydon Music and Arts, and the wider pattern is that children who want to start or continue instrumental learning can do so alongside the mainstream curriculum. For parents, that is most valuable when it is planned into routines so lessons do not repeatedly remove children from the same subject.

Pupil voice structures are also formalised. The school council process is described as an application and selection model, with pupils presenting mission statements and writing letters of application. That kind of approach can suit children who enjoy responsibility and want a say in how the school runs, and it signals that leadership opportunities are taken seriously even in primary years.

Swimming is referenced within the school’s extended care information, and the Enhanced Learning Provision information indicates that pupils in that provision can access swimming where it is safe to do so. Parents who value water confidence should ask how swimming is timetabled and where lessons take place.

The school day runs from 8:40am to 3:15pm for most children, with an expectation that pupils arrive by 8:50am.

Wraparound care is clearly structured. Breakfast Club runs from 7:30am to 8:40am, and After School Club runs from 3:15pm to 6:00pm, with advance booking required and limited availability.

For early years, the nursery offer includes funded entitlements for eligible families and a range of session patterns. Nursery fee details are published by the school and should be checked directly on the relevant page for the current year.

On logistics, this is a Coulsdon-area school and many families will be balancing walking, driving and local public transport options. If travel time is likely to be tight, prioritise a visit at drop-off time to understand how the start-of-day routine works.

• Oversubscription pressure. With 309 applications for 90 offers, competition for Reception places is real. Make sure your application list includes realistic alternatives you would also accept.

• Recent leadership change. The current headteacher started in September 2025, after the May 2024 Outstanding inspection. Families should ask how priorities are evolving under the new leadership team.

• Large-school feel. The roll was recorded as 687 at the May 2024 inspection, so this is a sizeable primary operation. Some children thrive on that scale and activity, others do better in smaller settings.

• Nursery to Reception transition. Early years places can create a strong pipeline, but Nursery does not remove the need to understand Reception admissions rules and deadlines.

Chipstead Valley Primary School combines high attainment with a clear inclusion offer, and its 2024 outcomes place it well above England averages. The school’s size supports breadth, from clubs like chess and choir to structured wraparound care, while the Enhanced Learning Provision adds an additional layer of specialist support within a mainstream setting.

Best suited to families who want a structured, high-performing state primary with early years provision and strong inclusion, and who are ready to manage admissions competition with a realistic shortlist. FindMySchool’s Saved Schools feature is useful here, because most parents will want to track a small set of comparable options alongside this one.