• Urban LA school 234 pupils in Hertfordshire
• Ofsted rating: Good
• FSM: 20.4%

Review rating:

Average rating across all Purple Mash reviews: 4.2/5

As a package it’s Ok. It feel it’s expensive and staff either use it or don’t and therefore curriculum budgets could be better spent

How well does it match the curriculum?

Reasonably: It’s good enough for the money, but needs some additional resources

Lots of researched to support but sometimes there is too many options and the children change their designs and never actually complete the task set

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. Some of the SEN pupils who use a different age range don’t get the same options as their peers which is frustrating

Suggestion: ensure there is less choice but the same design features for less able children and lower age ranges as children see what others have used and want the same even if they are less able and using a lower age range

How well does it engage and motivate pupils?

Reasonably: We can’t use it too often or for too long

They like all the options to change designs colours effects etc, but sometimes too many choices means the children are constantly playing about with their designs and never finish the task set.

How well supported is it by any included formative assessments?

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

Higher and lower ability can be difficult to access formally due to the range not being a level playing field

How well does it support planning?

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

Sometimes there are too many options to set a task from and a narrower range would make it easier to plan and set tasks on

How well does it support home use / independent learning?

Reasonably: It could be used at home or independently, but pupils would need some extra support or resources

Many of our children only have access to the 8n tern et through a. Boiler phone and it’s very difficult on these small screens to complete tasks

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

Reasonably: It represents about the same value for money as similar resources I’ve seen

For a while school it’s cheaper but no sure all staff use it effectively and some lower years don’t access the programmes or only use a few in the whole year

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

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