• City Academy 809 pupils (oversubscribed) in Newham
• FSM: 25.5%

Review rating:

Average rating across all Purple Mash reviews: 4.2/5

Purple mash is easy to use but it does not cater to the needs of all pupils. SEN children are not included here. The content is very scattered and there does not seem to be any clear links with the curriculum as such so can be confusing.

How well does it match the curriculum?

Well: It covers the curriculum as well as we expected

Easy to use but content does not cater to all needs. Can be used to set homework and online tasks quite easily.

How well does it support adaptation for different groups of pupils?

Reasonably: Essentially there’s enough for most pupils but there isn’t enough support. Lower ability and more-able children are not catered for.

Could have a wider choice of resources that are differentiated for Lower ability, middle ability and higher ability pupils. Also include resources for SEN pupils.

How well does it engage and motivate pupils?

Well: Pupils generally enjoy using it and tend to welcome doing so

It is user-friendly so they need little instruction when they need to access it. Sometimes it is difficult to locate submitted work and would be better if the interface was easier to access.

How well supported is it by any included formative assessments?

Badly: There isn’t any / enough formative assessment or what there is, isn’t very useful

The work is not marked and does not provide any assessment.

How well does it support planning?

Reasonably: Mostly we can use it without an unreasonable amount of effort or additional resource requirement

It requires some thought when planning but the resources on here are not comprehensive as it is difficult to see which part of the curriculum the lessons relate to.

How well does it support home use / independent learning?

Brilliantly: We’d have very few reservations about using this extensively to support home learning

Works extremely well.

How would you rate it for value for money compared to similar resources?

Well: It’s worth the money and effort to introduce – more so than many similar resources I’ve seen

No issues with the cost here as it reasonably priced. The school does not mind the annual subscription and renews this every year.

Would you recommend it to a colleague in a similar school to yours? 7/11

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