SCHOOL PROFILE

Poplar Primary School

Primary Community school URN 102644
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 708 Published school capacity
Capacity used 84.5% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

13 November 2024
Latest published outcome Standards maintained
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Community school
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Does not apply
Local authority Merton
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 598 575 full-time · 23 part-time
Female pupils 305 51.0% of pupils
Male pupils 293 49.0% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

19.1%
5.7 pts below England
School 19.1%
Merton 24.2%
London 26.3%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

46.0%
25.7 pts above England
School 46.0%
Merton 33.0%
London 39.2%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.0%
1.0 pts below England
School 0.0%
Merton 0.6%
London 0.5%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
25.1%
150
Any other White background
18.2%
109
Pakistani
12.0%
72
Any other Asian background
9.5%
57
Any other Mixed background
5.9%
35
White and Asian
5.2%
31
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 15.2% 91 of 598 pupils
5.6 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 15.2%
Merton 22.1%
London 19.8%
England 20.8%
SEN support 11.9% 71 pupils
England 14.8% 2.9 pts below
EHC plans 3.3% 20 pupils
England 6.0% 2.7 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 52
Social, emotional & mental health 14
Autistic spectrum disorder 8
No specialist assessment yet 6
Other difficulty or disability 5
Specific learning difficulty 5

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

70.0% 9.6 pts above England
School 70.0%
Merton 69.1%
London 67.9%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

82.0%

8.2 pts above England

School 82.0%
Merton 82.9%
London 78.2%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

73.0%

2.7 pts above England

School 73.0%
Merton 74.4%
London 75.1%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

88.0%

16.0 pts above England

School 88.0%
Merton 81.0%
London 77.7%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

3.84%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

2.38 pts lower than England
School 3.84%
Merton 5.86%
London 6.38%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

4.24%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

11.58 pts lower than England
School 4.24%
Merton 14.86%
London 17.60%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.19%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.61 pts lower than England
School 0.19%
Merton 1.34%
London 1.67%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

84.5% 3.7 pts below England
Poplar Primary School
84.5%
Merton
81.0%
London
85.9%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information