The Swedish School

Inspection of The Swedish School 82 Lonsdale Road, London SW13 9JS

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Early years provision Outstanding Sixth-form provision Outstanding Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy being part of the community at this small and friendly school. They develop very positive and professional relationships with each other and their teachers. Pupils are motivated by leaders’ and teachers’ high expectations for every pupil to learn a high-quality curriculum and receive the individual support they need to be successful. Pupils achieve highly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite and welcoming. Students on the sixth-form exchange programme settle in rapidly. Students typically commented that the school feels like ‘a second home’. Pupils are safe in school. They rapidly develop a mature outlook and respect the school’s code of conduct. They are considerate towards others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils appreciate taking on responsibilities. Older pupils are keen to have the opportunity to read to younger pupils. Pupils of all ages mix together amiably. This is exemplified in the spring performance in which everyone has an important role to play, on stage or behind the scenes. Sixth-form students take responsibility for organising social events, including celebrations of Swedish festivals.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders make extensive use of the resources and opportunities that London has to offer to support pupils’ learning of the curriculum. Leaders organise educational visits to museums and galleries regularly. There is a range of clubs for pupils to access after school.

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better?

The school follows the curriculum set out by the Swedish National Agency for Education. The curriculum identifies the key themes that pupils should be taught in a broad range of subjects from early years to sixth form. Leaders have developed the curriculum further to identify the specific facts and skills that they expect pupils to know and be able to do over time as they progress through the school. Staff in the early years use the learning environment and resources highly effectively to encourage children to build their curiosity and to problem-solve. Leaders communicate often and successfully with families, building a culture of partnership in the children’s learning. Staff develop children’s use and understanding of subject- specific vocabulary in Swedish and in English at every opportunity.

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better?

Teachers closely follow leaders’ curriculum. Teachers check routinely that pupils’ recall of essential knowledge and skills is secure. They develop pupils’ thinking so that pupils rapidly move on to more complex concepts. Teachers use checks on pupils’ learning effectively to identify any gaps in pupils’ understanding and recall, including students in the sixth form who join the school with wide-ranging starting points. Leaders ensure that teachers are alert to any pupils who may need extra support, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Teachers identify precisely the interventions that each pupil needs. They adapt resources and teaching approaches appropriately to enable all pupils to learn the same curriculum and achieve highly. 6 to 8 June 2023 Pupils develop reading fluency swiftly, exceeding the achievement expected nationally in the Swedish curriculum. Children are taught to read in English from an

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better?

early age. Teachers use a range of strategies, including phonics, to enable pupils to access texts swiftly. Teachers check that pupils read books that match and develop the sounds they are learning. Leaders ensure that pupils have access to high-quality texts in Swedish and in English across different subjects.

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better?

Pupils have diligent and responsible attitudes to their studies. Pupils are encouraged to develop valuable skills such as application and debating as well as clarity and confidence in presenting. Students in the sixth form are inspired by their teachers’ expertise to work hard to acquire their own specialist subject knowledge.

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better?

Staff place the highest emphasis on pupils’ personal development. The social sciences curriculum contributes significantly to this throughout the school. Children in the early years are taught to be polite and considerate towards others and take care of the world around them. They are encouraged to make reasoned choices and develop more independence. Leaders have a well-established programme of personal, social and health education and relationship education that is incorporated into subjects across the curriculum. Pupils are taught a well-thought-through and age-appropriate range of issues, including staying safe online, looking after mental and physical health, and consent.

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better?

The curriculum in art and music is designed to give pupils opportunities to think about and develop an appreciation of culture. Pupils learn about spirituality and different faiths through religious education.

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better?

There is a well-designed programme of careers education. From the early years, children are encouraged to think about the different jobs that people have and the skills and knowledge that are helpful to their roles. Older pupils have opportunities to develop work-related skills, including taking part in work experience. All pupils have access to impartial careers advice so that they are well placed to make informed decisions about their next steps in education and employment.

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better?

Leaders provide a strong programme of training for staff, tailored carefully to the needs of the school and individual staff roles and aspirations. Staff feel that leaders support their well-being and are considerate of their workload.

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better?

Leaders, including the proprietor body, know and fulfil their statutory responsibilities. They ensure that the independent school standards are met. They also ensure compliance with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders know up-to-date requirements and ensure that staff are alert to any indication that pupils might be at risk. Staff know the processes to follow if they 6 to 8 June 2023 have any safeguarding concerns. Leaders liaise with outside agencies appropriately to inform the work of the safeguarding team and to source additional support for pupils and their families.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have well-organised systems for the recording of pupils’ attendance. They follow up swiftly if a pupil is absent from a lesson. Leaders are alert to local safeguarding risks and provide pupils with information and guidance on how to keep safe when out and about in the local community.

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Safeguarding

The safeguarding policy is published on the school’s website.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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. 6 to 8 June 2023

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School details

Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed

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form

Proprietor Swedish School Society in London

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Annual fees (day pupils) £8,900 to £9,900

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Email address office@swedishschool.org.uk

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form

Dates of previous inspection 12 to 14 February 2019 6 to 8 June 2023

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Information about this school

 The Swedish School provides education for Swedish-speaking pupils. Some subjects are taught in English. Most pupils are permanently resident in London.  The school operates from two sites. The pre-school, primary and secondary schools are located at the main site in Barnes at 82 Lonsdale Road, SW13 9JS. The sixth form is located in a specifically allocated section at The National Archives, Bessant Drive, TW9 4AD. The sixth form moved to this site in November 2020. Leaders informed the Department for Education of this material change to the school during this inspection.  Since the previous standard inspection, a new headteacher and a new deputy headteacher have been appointed. There is a new chair of the proprietor body.  Approximately half of the students in the sixth form are exchange students from Sweden who spend up to one year at the school. The proprietor body organises accommodation with host families within the local community for these students.

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Information about this school

 The school does not make use of alternative provision.  The school has an exemption from the learning and development requirements of the early years foundation stage.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors carried out this inspection under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008. The purpose of the inspection is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school's suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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Information about this inspection

The school meets the independent school standards. These are the requirements set out in the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with school leaders, including the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the chair of the proprietor body and three other members of the proprietor body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English including reading, music, science and social sciences. For each deep dive, inspectors met with leaders and subject teachers to discuss the curriculum, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also looked at other areas of the curriculum.  The inspection of safeguarding included meeting with leaders with responsibility for safeguarding, looking at the school’s records relating to safeguarding, 6 to 8 June 2023

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Information about this inspection

speaking to pupils, speaking to staff and looking at relevant areas of the curriculum.  Inspectors had a tour of the school sites, accompanied by school leaders and the site manager. Inspectors looked at documentation to consider compliance with the independent school standards.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey for parents, including free-text comments. There were no responses to the surveys for staff or pupils.

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Inspection team

Amanda Carter-Fraser, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Karen Matthews Ofsted Inspector 6 to 8 June 2023 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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Inspection team

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Inspection team

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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