Ronald Ross Primary School

Inspection of Ronald Ross Primary School 145 Beaumont Road, London SW19 6RY

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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 Previous inspection grade Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

This school was last inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 11 years ago and judged ‘Outstanding’ under a previous inspection framework. This reflected the school’s overall effectiveness under the inspection framework in use at the time.

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

From then until November 2020, the school was exempted by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between graded inspections under section 5 of the Act. Judgements in this report are based on the current inspection framework and also reflect changes that may have happened at any point since the last graded inspection. 22 and 23 May 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has the highest expectations for pupils’ behaviour and achievement. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well in national tests and produce work of high quality across the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Classrooms are purposeful places where pupils work enthusiastically, including when they find tasks challenging. From the early years, children listen attentively to each other and to adults. This helps them to take on board a range of ideas. Pupils are considerate of others. They share, take turns and invite others to play. Playground buddies ensure that everyone is included. Pupils take up roles of responsibility widely across the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

From the early years onwards, pupils’ personal and social development is broadened through all that the school organises. This includes outings to galleries, the ballet, opera and to many theatre performances. These culturally rich experiences considerably strengthen pupils’ wider education. For example, pupils in Year 6 have a detailed understanding of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, having seen the play performed before staging their own production of it. Clubs including orchestra, chess, cookery and yoga are popular.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Strong, trusting professional relationships exist between adults and pupils. This makes pupils feel safe. Parents and carers appreciate the wealth of support provided by the school, including weekly opportunities to hear from a range of professionals about topics that matter most to parents, including supporting children’s wellbeing and helping pupils with SEND to be successful. The views of staff are listened to and thoughtfully supported.

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better?

The school provides a highly ambitious curriculum. Leaders have thought carefully about what pupils should know in each subject. The needs of pupils with SEND are taken into account throughout. Knowledge is sequenced in a clear, logical progression that helps pupils to understand new learning. For example, children in the early years learn to prepare food safely in weekly cooking lessons. This prepares them to make simple dishes with fruits in Year 1, and with vegetables in Year 2 before cooking with a heat source in Year 3. Older pupils draw on their knowledge of how to safely prepare healthy food to prepare more complex dishes including quiche and breads.

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better?

Children in the early years experience a coherently planned curriculum which adults know in detail. The indoor and outdoor spaces and resources provide lots of opportunties for children to revisit concepts in a meaningful way. Adults help by purposefully reminding children of important knowledge and expertly modelling language. This continues throughout the school. High-quality training ensures that staff have strong subject knowledge. The work provided to pupils focuses sharply on 22 and 23 May 2024

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helping them to learn the curriculum and to develop the vocabulary they need to talk precisely about their learning.

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Teachers and other adults have a shared understanding of the aims of the curriculum. They check pupils’ understanding systematically, skilfully addressing any misconceptions and extending pupils’ thinking. There is particular attention paid to ensuring that pupils with SEND understand key concepts securely before moving on to new content. As a result, pupils recall detailed knowledge across the curriculum. They make links between what they already know and new learning. For example, pupils in Year 6 know that the geography of Ancient Maya provided a good climate to grow cacao and maize, which were valuable currency for trade and therefore made the Mayans powerful in their time.

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Reading is at the heart of the curriculum. Leaders provide a range of interesting literature that takes account of pupils’ backgrounds and interests, including plays and poetry. From the early years, pupils read widely and often. They hear stories that captivate them. Teaching focuses on helping pupils to grasp the important themes, events and conventions in texts so that they can form their own conclusions about texts. Phonics is taught with a sharp focus on ensuring that every child from the early years has a strong foundation in decoding words. Pupils who need support receive all the help they require. As a result, pupils read with confidence and fluency. Reading Ambassadors in Year 5 read regularly with pupils in Year 1 and help to promote a love of reading.

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Pupils’ behaviour is excellent. They are kind, courteous and respectful. The school teaches pupils how to behave well, including how to recognise their emotions and a range of strategies to manage any difficulties they may have in managing their own behaviour and in relationships with others. Attendance rates are high and the school acts swiftly to offer support and encouragement where any pupil’s attendance rates are lower.

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The school teaches pupils comprehensively how to make healthy and safe choices in relationships. Pupils are taught widely about the different backgrounds, beliefs and experiences of people. This supports their understanding of discrimination and prejudice, and how harmful it can be. They are very well prepared for life in modern Britain as a result.

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The governing body makes a strong contribution to the work of the school in carefully identifying priorities for improvement and ensuring that their aims are met, particualrly so that pupils with SEND and those eligible for the pupil premium receive all the help they need to thrive within the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 22 and 23 May 2024

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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 social 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). 22 and 23 May 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 14 and 15 March 2013

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Information about this school

 Since the last inspection, there have been changes to leadership including the appointment of a new headteacher.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.

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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, and design technology. 22 and 23 May 2024

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 For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also looked at curriculum information 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 consid- ered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteachers and other leaders. Inspectors also met with leaders with responsibility for early years, SEND, behaviour and at- tendance and pupils’ personal development.  Inspectors met with representatives from the local governing body.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for parents, staff and

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Inspection team

Rebecca Iles-Smith, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Teresa Neary Ofsted Inspector 22 and 23 May 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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