Garden Suburb Junior School

Inspection of a good school: Garden Suburb Junior School Childs Way, Garden Suburb Junior School, Childs Way, London NW11 6XU

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Outcome

Garden Suburb Junior School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn effectively at this welcoming and friendly school. Leaders know pupils and their families well. Leaders said that the school is always there to support their community. The views of parents and carers echo this.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are ambitious for pupils to achieve well in a wide range of subjects. All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are supported by staff to do their best. As a result, they enjoy their studies and typically develop knowledge successfully.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff also want all pupils to discover their talents and to celebrate them. They encourage pupils to use their sporting talents, for instance, to compete locally with other schools. Pupils said they really value these opportunities, especially now that they have resumed after the previous restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pupils also experience many trips, including a residential trip for Year 6 pupils to the Isle of Wight.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They are calm, focused and engaged in lessons. When taking part in discussions, pupils listen and respond to each other respectfully. They are polite and well mannered to their peers and to adults. Pupils feel safe at school. Bullying is not tolerated and is sorted out quickly. On the rare occasions that bullying happens, pupils are confident that adults will make it stop.

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

Leaders have designed a broad and challenging curriculum. They have carefully identified the knowledge that pupils need to learn. Teachers know what knowledge to teach in each curriculum area. In all subjects, ensuring that pupils understand and use key vocabulary correctly is given high importance. Teachers present and explain knowledge clearly. Across the curriculum, they introduce and use subject-specific language in a highly systematic manner. 18 and 19 May 2022

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Leaders prioritise the teaching of reading. They have introduced a well-planned phonics programme to support pupils who join the school at the early stages of learning to read. Pupils following this programme read books which are closely matched to the sounds they know. This enables them to develop their fluency and accuracy, and catch up quickly. Staff want to inspire pupils to love reading and pupils do. Pupils are keen to take on the role of ‘book worms’, which means they get to make reading recommendations to their peers. Pupils talk enthusiastically about books they enjoy and want to read next. Teachers use carefully chosen, high-quality texts to teach pupils new vocabulary and about the features of different types of writing.

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Pupils typically achieve well across the curriculum. Teachers set work that enables pupils to learn and understand new subject content. Teachers routinely check how well pupils are building up their understanding. This approach is well established in many areas of the curriculum, including in subjects such as physical education (PE) and Spanish. For example, teachers find out what pupils know and then adapt teaching to deepen pupils’ understanding further.

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In some subjects, leaders have benefited from extra training to enhance their own knowledge of the subjects that they lead. These subject leaders are now working alongside class teachers to improve their confidence in delivering the planned curriculum. Together, they are focusing on ensuring that all pupils achieve highly. However, this approach is not established in all subjects. Leaders’ plans to further develop subject leadership are already underway.

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Leaders have well-developed systems in place to identify and meet the needs of pupils who need additional help with their learning. This includes pupils with SEND. Teachers are supported effectively to adapt tasks. They use appropriate approaches tailored to pupils’ needs.

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The school’s work to support pupils’ wider development is strong. Pupils learn about inspirational and diverse role models in modern Britain, as well as about life and culture in other countries. When pupils join Spanish club, they are encouraged to correspond with children in Spain to practise their knowledge as well as find out more about life in Spain. In their lessons, pupils discuss and debate current issues. They respect each other’s views and understand that they might have different opinions about things. Off-task behaviour rarely gets in the way of learning.

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Leaders and governors work well together to improve the school. Staff and parents value that senior leaders are approachable and open to their ideas. Leaders appreciate that staff have experienced additional challenges with workload this year. As a result, senior leaders reviewed how the curriculum was led. To relieve workload pressures on staff, senior leaders decided to temporarily take on the role of subject leaders themselves. Working in this way has meant that there has been stability in the leadership of the curriculum in a challenging time. Leaders are now working with staff to empower them to resume subject leader roles in full. They know what support teachers need in order to carry out their new subject leadership roles effectively. This includes, where necessary, strengthening teachers’ subject knowledge. 18 and 19 May 2022

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders promote a strong culture of safeguarding. Staff are well trained to recognise the signs that might indicate a concern about a pupil’s safety or well-being. Staff know the procedures they need to follow if they are worried about a pupil. Safeguarding leaders are knowledgeable about risks in the local area. Leaders liaise well with external agencies when a pupil needs extra help to keep them safe. Leaders follow safer recruitment procedures when appointing new staff.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make sure that the curriculum helps pupils to learn about how to keep themselves safe. For example, pupils learn about the risks of taking drugs and drinking alcohol, and how to stay safe when using the internet.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some subject leaders are at the early stages of developing the expertise needed to lead their subject. As a result, they are not supporting teachers to deliver the planned curriculum as well as they could do. Leaders should ensure that all subject leaders and teachers are well trained to deliver the curriculum. This is so that pupils can achieve equally highly across all subjects.

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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 first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2017.

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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. 18 and 19 May 2022

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

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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. 18 and 19 May 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10228245 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 3 and 4 May 2017, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not make use of alternative education provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspector carried out this inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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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 leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector held discussions with the headteacher and other senior leaders.  The inspector also met the special educational needs coordinator, the chair of governors and a representative from the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and PE. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers about the lessons visited, spoke with pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector also considered a number of other subjects as part of this inspection. 18 and 19 May 2022

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 The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in classrooms, around the school and at playtime and lunchtime. They spoke with pupils about their views of the school and their learning, behaviour and safety.  The arrangements for safeguarding were scrutinised. This included checking the single central record, training for staff and safeguarding records. The inspector also met with the designated safeguarding lead.  The views of parents and carers, staff and pupils were gathered through Ofsted’s online surveys.

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Inspection team

Karen Matthews, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 18 and 19 May 2022

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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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