Rathfern Primary School

Lewisham · SE6 4NL

General information Primary School · 3-11 years Who goes here 484 pupils, 21.2% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 12.2% on SEN support Behaviour 3.7% absence rate Staff 18.7% turnover Financials £8,631 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Rathfern Primary School

General Information

Address: Rathfern Road, Catford, London, SE6 4NL – View on map
Phone: 02086903759
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Naheeda Maharasingam
Age range: 3-11 years
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

484 pupils out of 515 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 99
% eligible for free school meals: 21.2%
Pupil mix: 9 in 10 (similar to the Lewisham average)
English as an additional language: 31% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 18.7% a year (Lewisham 16.1%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 23% moved to another school, 77% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Lewisham: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 2 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 9 (0.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Lewisham, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 3.7%
Persistently absent pupils: 6.1%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 12.2%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.9%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 31 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 12 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 9 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Hearing impairment: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 7 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Severe learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
Other difficulty or disability: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Ofsted report card January 2026

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Strong standard
Curriculum and teaching Strong standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour Strong standard
Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard
Early years Strong standard
Leadership and governance Strong standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Outstanding (2021). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 82% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 8% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 14 percentage points above the Lewisham average (68%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Above (3-year average 67% against an expected 59%)
3-year average (expected standard): 67%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 87% · Writing 85% · Maths 85% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 87%
Average test scores: reading 111, maths 110
Based on: 60 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolLewisham averageEngland↗ Improving Up 15 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 14 percentage points above the Lewisham average (68%).

Year 6 SATs: 10th of 67 junior and primary schools in the area

=6St Matthew Academy83%
=6Stillness Junior School83%
#10Rathfern Primary School82%
=11Downderry Primary School80%
=11Fairlawn Primary School80%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Haberdashers' Hatcham Free School90%
#2Turnham Academy88%
#3Trinity Church of England School, Lewisham86%
=4Eliot Bank Primary School85%
=4Gordonbrock Primary School85%
=6Holy Cross Catholic Primary School83%
=6St James's Hatcham Church of England Primary School83%
=6St Matthew Academy83%
=6Stillness Junior School83%
#10Rathfern Primary School82%
=11Downderry Primary School80%
=11Fairlawn Primary School80%
=11St Bartholomews's Church of England Primary School80%
#14Brindishe Lee School79%
#15St Margaret's Lee CofE Primary School78%
#16Tidemill Academy76%
=17Ashmead Primary School75%
=17Brindishe Manor School75%
=17Haberdashers' Hatcham Primary75%
=17St George's CofE Primary School75%
=21Childeric Primary School74%
=21St Augustine's Catholic Primary School and Nursery74%
=23Haberdashers' Knights Primary73%
=23Horniman Primary School73%
=23St Joseph's Catholic Primary School73%
=26Adamsrill Primary School72%
=26Edmund Waller Primary School72%
=26Kelvin Grove Primary School72%
=26St William of York Catholic Primary School72%
=30Dalmain Primary School71%
=30John Ball Primary School71%
=30Myatt Garden Primary School71%
=30Oak Gardens Primary School71%
#34Marvels Lane Primary School70%
=35Beecroft Garden Primary69%
=35Brindishe Green School69%
=35Deptford Park Primary School69%
=38Forster Park Primary School68%
=38Kender Primary School68%
=38St John Baptist Southend Church of England Primary School68%
=41All Saints' Church of England Primary School Blackheath67%
=41Good Shepherd RC School67%
=41Perrymount Primary School67%
=41Sandhurst Primary School67%
=45Kilmorie Primary School66%
=45Torridon Primary School66%
#47Haseltine Primary School65%
=48Cooper's Lane Primary School62%
=48St Michael's Church of England Primary School62%
#50John Stainer Community Primary School61%
#51St Mary's Lewisham Church of England Primary School60%
=52Prendergast Ladywell School59%
=52St Winifred's RC Primary School59%
#54Our Lady and St Philip Neri Catholic Primary School58%
=55Grinling Gibbons Primary School57%
=55Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School57%
=55St Saviour's Catholic Primary School57%
#58Holbeach Primary School56%
#59Prendergast Vale School55%
#60Baring Primary School54%
#61Launcelot Primary School and Nursery53%
#62Rangefield Primary School51%
#63St Stephen's CofE Primary School50%
#64Rushey Green Primary School49%
#65Elfrida Primary School47%
#66Athelney Primary School43%
#67Twin Oaks Primary School42%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £8,631 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

37th of 62 primary schools in Lewisham for spending per pupil

#35Adamsrill Primary School£8,677
#36Good Shepherd RC School£8,640
#37Rathfern Primary School£8,631
#38Marvels Lane Primary School£8,512
#39Torridon Primary School£8,463

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Deptford Park Primary School£12,590
#2Forster Park Primary School£11,948
#3St Joseph's Catholic Primary School£11,745
#4Kelvin Grove Primary School£11,010
#5Oak Gardens Primary School£10,657
#6Athelney Primary School£10,506
#7St James's Hatcham Church of England Primary School£10,397
#8Rangefield Primary School£10,339
#9Grinling Gibbons Primary School£10,269
#10Twin Oaks Primary School£9,981
#11St Saviour's Catholic Primary School£9,932
#12Launcelot Primary School and Nursery£9,617
#13St George's CofE Primary School£9,477
#14St Stephen's CofE Primary School£9,425
#15Kender Primary School£9,400
#16Childeric Primary School£9,395
#17Tidemill Academy£9,380
#18Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School£9,373
#19St John Baptist Southend Church of England Primary School£9,307
#20Perrymount Primary School£9,298
#21Beecroft Garden Primary£9,275
#22Myatt Garden Primary School£9,232
#23St Mary's Lewisham Church of England Primary School£9,164
#24St William of York Catholic Primary School£9,098
#25Horniman Primary School£9,094
#26Elfrida Primary School£9,065
#27St Michael's Church of England Primary School£9,052
#28Kilmorie Primary School£9,028
#29Baring Primary School£9,025
#30Holbeach Primary School£9,007
#31All Saints' Church of England Primary School Blackheath£8,993
#32Our Lady and St Philip Neri Catholic Primary School£8,822
#33Haberdashers' Knights Primary£8,798
#34Brindishe Lee School£8,759
#35Adamsrill Primary School£8,677
#36Good Shepherd RC School£8,640
#37Rathfern Primary School£8,631
#38Marvels Lane Primary School£8,512
#39Torridon Primary School£8,463
#40Edmund Waller Primary School£8,400
#41St Margaret's Lee CofE Primary School£8,379
#42St Augustine's Catholic Primary School and Nursery£8,286
#43Cooper's Lane Primary School£8,212
#44Downderry Primary School£8,161
#45Brindishe Green School£8,135
#46Haseltine Primary School£8,072
#47Sandhurst Primary School£8,041
#48Rushey Green Primary School£7,991
#49Haberdashers' Hatcham Primary£7,962
#50St Winifred's RC Primary School£7,961
#51Holy Cross Catholic Primary School£7,936
#52John Stainer Community Primary School£7,822
#53Dalmain Primary School£7,794
#54John Ball Primary School£7,679
#55Eliot Bank Primary School£7,652
#56Brindishe Manor School£7,634
#57Gordonbrock Primary School£7,620
#58Fairlawn Primary School£7,578
#59Ashmead Primary School£7,005
#60St Bartholomews's Church of England Primary School£6,772
#61Haberdashers' Hatcham Free School£6,721
#62Turnham Academy£6,573

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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