Strand-on-the-Green Junior School

Inspection of a good school: Strand-on- the-Green Junior School Thames Road, Chiswick, London W4 3NX

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Inspection dates: 17 and 18 November 2021

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Outcome

Strand-on-the-Green Junior School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning at Strand-on-the-Green Junior School. It is a safe and supportive environment. Pupils are proud to be ‘upstanders’, standing up for each other and what is right. One parent commented that they ‘love the way the school encourages good citizenship’. The school’s ten values, which include responsibility, fairness and respect, are well known by pupils and integral to all aspects of school life.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are determined that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well. They want pupils to gain the knowledge and skills they need to succeed at the next stage of education and beyond. Pupils have equally high expectations of themselves. They seek advice and guidance from their teachers to understand which subjects will best support their future career aspirations.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well and work hard. They said that playtimes are ‘nice times’ where bullying rarely happens. Pupils said they would stand up to bullying and tell a teacher if they saw it. They are confident that the adults in school would make sure it was dealt with quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils like the range of clubs and activities on offer. From skateboarding and street dance to scrapbooking and film, leaders have made sure there is something for everyone.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have carefully considered what they want pupils to learn. Over the last two years, they have reviewed and revised most subjects in the curriculum. For example, in history, plans develop key concepts, such as civilization, across each year group. Leaders decided to revise subjects in stages to allow sufficient time for the new curriculum to embed. This means that plans in science and in design and technology are at an earlier stage of review.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Lessons reflect what leaders and teachers have planned for pupils to learn. Teachers have strong subject knowledge themselves and are mostly clear about how key concepts build 17 and 18 November 2021

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in the lessons they teach. Good behaviour means that learning can happen without distraction. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 remember important historical events and the order they happened. They are less confident in linking their knowledge across different time periods.

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Reading is taught daily through discrete sessions in addition to the main English lesson. Pupils in Year 3 and groups in Year 4 reread the same text or script each day. This supports pupils to read with fluency, comprehension, intonation, and confidence. Texts are often chosen to complement other areas of the curriculum. For example, in Year 4, pupils read facts about how sounds are made. This practice further supports pupils to retain and consolidate their knowledge in other areas of the curriculum. Pupils at the early stages of reading receive daily phonics lessons. Teachers check at least half-termly the sounds pupils know. They then make sure pupils only read books that contain these sounds.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, some pupils developed gaps in their mathematical knowledge. Leaders have identified the non-negotiables that must be learned to support addressing these gaps. Teachers skilfully adapt lessons so that pupils have enough time to secure the knowledge they need. They also use clever and creative ways to consolidate learning. For instance, some pupils were less secure in their knowledge of 2D and 3D shapes. Teachers made sure properties of shapes were emphasised when learning about structures in design and technology lessons.

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Pupils with SEND are generally well supported and make progress across the curriculum. This is because staff know pupils well and how to help them understand the intended learning. In some cases, teaching assistants are not always clear on the importance of sequencing mathematical knowledge. Leaders know newer staff need further training in this area and are taking steps to address this.

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Leaders make sure that pupils have access to rich and engaging experiences. For example, during the inspection, Year 4 visited the Science Museum to take part in a workshop to enrich their learning about sound and electricity. Pupils learn about a variety of faiths and cultures and visit a different place of worship every year.

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Staff are positive about their workload and said that leaders understand the pressures they are under. Leaders support staff by ensuring that they have enough time to embed new approaches to teaching the curriculum.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders take effective action to promote the health and safety of all pupils. In fact, they go above and beyond to ensure that the most vulnerable pupils access the support they need. Whether this is support from the school itself, or from external services and agencies. 17 and 18 November 2021

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Pupils are taught a variety of ways to stay safe. They know, for example, the dangers of chatting on the internet to people they do not know, and what they should and should not do.

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All staff know the procedures and protocols for reporting concerns. They know what signs to look out for and are particularly astute to the risks in the local community, such as county lines.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have overhauled the curriculum. This means that most subjects are planned well with carefully sequenced knowledge. In some subjects, these new plans are still embedding, and pupils are not always connecting the substantive knowledge as intended. Leaders need to make sure all staff are trained to deliver all subjects securely and consistently so that pupils develop detailed knowledge and skills across the intended curriculum.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in October 2011.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted . 17 and 18 November 2021

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 17 and 18 November 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10200103 Type of school Junior

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 27 September 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has a specially resourced provision for pupils with autism spectrum disorder. This provision is shared with the infant school and caters for 29 pupils from Reception to Year 6.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior leaders, staff, pupils, the chair of the governing body, two other governors and a representative from the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning, looked at samples of pupils’ work and curriculum plans in other subjects 17 and 18 November 2021

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 The inspector reviewed safeguarding arrangements by scrutinising records, talking to leaders and staff, and through discussions with pupils.  The inspector considered the views of parents, staff and pupils through Ofsted’s online surveys.

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Inspection team

Alison Colenso, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 17 and 18 November 2021

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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