Hollymount School

Inspection of Hollymount School Cambridge Road, Raynes Park, London SW20 0SQ

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 February 2024

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Early years provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Good 28 and 29 February 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are incredibly proud of their school. They embrace and celebrate the diversity in the school. Pupils said that they enjoy learning from each other about different cultures and ways of thinking. Pupils are very happy at this caring school where there is a strong sense of community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are kept safe at school. They know that they can speak to staff if they have any concerns. Pupils have confidence in staff to sort things out well. Through lessons and assemblies, pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe in a variety of situations. Pupils really appreciate the ways in which staff take the time to listen. They said that staff are kind and considerate of everyone’s views.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils eagerly rise to the consistently high expectations set by all staff. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well in their learning across the curriculum. The early years provides children with an especially positive start to school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour in classrooms and around the school is exemplary. The school has created a positive culture which is highly respectful and treats every individual with dignity. Pupils demonstrate exceptionally high levels of respect for their peers, staff and visitors. The ‘Hollymount Entitlement’ offers all pupils excellent opportunities to enrich and extend their learning beyond the classroom. Every year, all pupils get the chance to experience well-planned special themed days, whole-school events and educational visits, including residentials.

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better?

The school has skilfully implemented an ambitious curriculum which allows pupils to build up their knowledge and skills securely from Nursery through to Year 6. In mathematics, for example, children in early years identify and learn about the properties of shapes. Pupils in Year 1 use this knowledge well when learning to recognise and name two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes. By the time pupils reach Year 6, they have the knowledge they need to calculate the size of missing angles in shapes. Pupils use what they have learned in mathematics when they study other subjects. For example, in science, pupils completed line graphs and tally charts with precision. Nevertheless, aspects of the curriculum are new and these are still being embedded to ensure that pupils achieve highly in all subjects. Some pupils have gaps in their knowledge in a few wider curriculum subjects. Leaders are working very effectively to sort this out. They are working closely with

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better?

Leaders provide staff with well-thought-out professional development opportunities and support. This has ensured that staff have the subject knowledge and expertise to deliver the curriculum. Teaching routinely ensures that activities are adjusted to meet pupils’ individual needs, including those with SEND. In lessons, staff check how 28 and 29 February 2024

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well pupils are doing. They identify and sort out any misconceptions well. However, in a few subjects, the school is still working out how to check what pupils know and remember in the long term. Leaders have well-established systems in place to address this and to continually improve the curriculum.

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The school’s early years curriculum enables children to get off to a flying start in their education. Staff are highly skilled at promoting children’s communication language development. Staff make the most of all opportunities to promote and extend children’s learning and development. For example, children had great fun when they discovered a ‘crime scene’ in their outdoor area. They worked together admirably to work out who ate the ‘gingerbread man’. All the while, staff used high- quality interactions to support children’s language and their understanding of traditional tales.

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Pupils with SEND benefit from high-quality support across the curriculum. Staff use their expertise to identify and meet pupils’ needs. This helps these pupils to reach their goals and achieve success.

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Everyone is focused on making sure that all pupils become fluent and confident readers. The school’s phonics programme is implemented with consistency and this allows pupils to build up their knowledge steadily and securely. Staff make sure that pupils who need more help with reading, including older pupils, benefit from timely and well-planned support. These pupils catch up quickly and achieve well.

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Pupils display impeccable attitudes to learning. During class discussions, pupils listen attentively and respect the views of their peers. Pupils’ rates of attendance are high.

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Pupils are taught about a wide range of topics which help them to find out about themselves and others. For example, pupils explore themes such as democracy and citizenship. They get the chance to find out about parliament and how decisions are made in their local area. Pupils take on a range of responsibilities in school and take these seriously. For example, school councillors and digital leaders undertake these roles with pride and commitment. The school provides many ways to promote pupils’ leadership skills. Pupils enjoy attending the wide range of clubs on offer such as those for martial arts, yoga and netball.

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Like other leaders, the governing body is highly ambitious for everything that happens in school. Governors have established well-established systems to hold leaders to account. Together, they ensure that these high expectations are realised.

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Staff are extremely proud to work here and praise the support they receive to promote their well-being. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the work of the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 28 and 29 February 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, the new curriculum and approaches for checking what pupils know and remember are not fully embedded. Pupils have some gaps in their prior knowledge and this affects how well they learn and remember new content. Where this is the case, the school should continue its work to embed the new curriculum and assessment approaches. It should continue to identify and address any gaps in pupils’ prior knowledge so that pupils can learn and remember new content securely.

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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.

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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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a so- cial worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 28 and 29 February 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 18 July 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher was appointed in September 2022.  The school uses one alternative provision for its pupils.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, geography, art and design and computing. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 28 and 29 February 2024

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The lead inspector listened to some pupils reading to a member of staff. Inspectors also reviewed the curriculum in some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and parents; held a meeting with the designated safeguarding leader, and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The lead inspector met with the chair of the governing body along with other governors. She also met with a representative of the local authority.  The lead inspector held a telephone conversation with the alternative provision used by the school.  Inspectors took into consideration the responses to Ofsted’s surveys for parents, pupils and staff. They spoke to some parents at the start of the school day.

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 Inspectors spoke with pupils during social times and observed their behaviour at different points in the school day, such as during breakfast club.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documents relating to the work of the school, such as minutes of governing body meetings, the school’s self-evaluation and plans about the school’s priorities for further improvement.

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Inspection team

Rajeshree Mehta, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Jacquie Fairhurst Ofsted Inspector 28 and 29 February 2024

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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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