• Rural LA school 179 pupils in Warwickshire
• Ofsted rating: Good
• FSM: 14.5%

Review rating:

Average rating across all Purple Mash reviews: 4.2/5

Because it isn’t so clear at what level the other curriculum content is pitched at. Eg triangles is this year 4or 5 ??

How well does it match the curriculum?

Well: It covers the curriculum as well as we expected

Lots on offer that you can also adapt to make your own. Resources are available for all year groups. You don’t need to purchase additional software to make use of the activities as they all run from their browser. Some things are still best sourced elsewhere like scratch and some of the coding that is covered in the year six curriculum. Weekly newsletters keep you abreast of any changes and new content. It has activities that can be used across the curriculum covering most subjects so this is not just for ICT. Children can access from home should they need to be home schooled or you would like to set a task for homework. They offer themed events and competitions as well that link into times of the year or major celebrations.

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, extension or challenge

If each task was differentiated three ways and colour coded so that children could navigate their way through the content that would be an improvement.

How well does it engage and motivate pupils?

Brilliantly: Pupils love using and are excited when they know they are going to do so

Bright and colourful graphics engage the children and it is created in a simplistic way that they can operate independently which is important for confidence and self esteem. Children like to do the games as they are linked to learning but fun and engaging. They can access at home which helps engagement with homework tasks and home learning. Children really enjoy working on Purple Mash and so I have no comment for improvement

How well supported is it by any included formative assessments?

Reasonably: There is some formative assessment included, but its usefulness is a bit limited

I am not aware of any but I could be wrong

How well does it support planning?

Well: It’s fairly self-contained and can be used with minimal preparation

It links well to the national curriculum so that teachers can be confident that they have covered all the required content at the correct level. Some things such as coding are still best supported by other software such as scratch but this should not put off a teacher from using this as it also supports other areas of the curriculum.

How well does it support home use / independent learning?

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

It was great to be able to set work that you know can be accessed at home at the correct level of challenge

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

I say this as the county I work for pays it so I really don’t know how much it costs. Even so I think the teachers would be really disappointed if it was to go as they really rely on this for the content and support for ICT . It is used less for other subjects

Would you recommend it to a colleague in a similar school to yours? 9/11

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