London Park School Clapham

Inspection of London Park School Clapham 7-11 Nightingale Lane, London SW4 9AH

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

All pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), thrive in this school. Relationships between pupils and staff are extremely positive. Due to the small class sizes, staff know all the pupils very well. This enables teachers to provide highly personalised support. Pupils appreciate this and are happy and safe in the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have very high expectations for pupils in all aspects of school life. They are determined that all pupils will excel. As a result, all pupils in the school, including pupils with SEND, achieve extremely well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour in the school is exemplary. Pupils are friendly, polite and confident. During lessons, they are focused, enthusiastic and committed to their learning. Pastoral support in the school is extremely strong. Pupils have a broad range of staff to help them if required.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils in the school all take part in an extensive range of visits. Every pupil attends a residential abroad each year. These are linked to the school’s commitment to sustainability. For example, all pupils in Year 8 and Year 9 visited the French Alps to explore the effects of climate change on glaciers. Pupils also take part in a range of other outings each year linked to their curriculum. These include visits to museums, galleries and exhibitions.

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better?

Leaders have developed a highly ambitious curriculum. This includes extremely strong support for pupils with SEND. The curriculum is built to develop pupils’ knowledge progressively over time. For example, in Year 7 music, pupils learn basic scales before moving on to learning about improvisation in Year 8.

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better?

Teachers have strong subject knowledge and present information clearly. Small class sizes enable staff to spend a significant amount of time with each pupil, allowing them to check understanding and address misconceptions swiftly.

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better?

The work that pupils produce is consistently of a high standard. Pupils have a deep understanding of what they are learning. They confidently use subject-specific vocabulary and are able to apply their learning to a range of contexts.

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better?

The school identifies pupils who may struggle with reading swiftly. Staff identify pupils’ individual needs on entry to the school and put in place bespoke support if required. This ensures pupils make rapid improvements to their reading fluency and confidence. A number of strategies are in place to develop pupils’ enjoyment of reading. Pupils are encouraged to read a wide range of texts both for academic purposes and for pleasure. 11 to 13 June 2024 Pupils’ attitudes to learning are extremely positive. They regulate their own behaviour well at all times, including around the school site. Leaders ensure that pupils’ attendance is high. They communicate effectively with parents and have robust procedures in place to enable pupils to attend school regularly.

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better?

Leaders have developed a carefully considered personal development programme. The curriculum is designed to build pupils’ knowledge in an age-appropriate manner. Through these sessions, pupils learn how to stay healthy and safe, including online. Pupils also have weekly ‘global citizenship’ lessons where they explore various global events and different cultures and develop debating skills.

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better?

Pupils all take part in at least one of the wide range of clubs on offer. These include robotics, choir and photography clubs. There is an extremely broad range of sports teams for pupils to take part in. Every pupil represents the school in a fixture at least once each year. There are a range of opportunities in the school for pupils to develop their leadership skills. Pupils set up and run their own societies and can join the student council or become subject prefects.

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better?

Leaders provide pupils with purposeful careers advice and guidance. This is built into the ‘global citizenship’ course and the curriculums of other subjects. Pupils also have the opportunity to attend careers-focused trips and the school welcomes speakers from a range of jobs to speak to the pupils.

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better?

Teachers feel well supported to carry out their roles. The school has developed strong working relationships with parents, communicating with them regularly. The proprietor and board understand the school well and provide support and extra accountability for leaders.

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better?

The proprietor ensures that the independent school standards are met in full. The school complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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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. 11 to 13 June 2024

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School details

Email address office@londonparkschools.com 11 to 13 June 2024

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Information about this school

 The school opened in September 2023  This was the school’s first standard inspection.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The address of the school is 7-11 Nightingale Lane, London, SW4 9AH.  The school is registered to admit 80 pupils.

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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

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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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 the proprietor, a member of the governing body, members of the senior leadership team and a range of staff.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: mathematics, science, history and music. For each deep dive, inspectors spoke to subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, discussed with pupils and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also looked at curriculum plans and visited lessons for a range of other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive

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Information about this inspection

culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors considered the views of parents, pupils and staff, including through responses to Ofsted’s online surveys.

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The school’s proposed change to its premises

The school has applied to the Department for Education (DfE) to make a ‘material change’ to its registration. At the DfE’s request, we checked whether the school meets the relevant independent school standards if the DfE decides to approve the change. This part of the inspection was carried out under section 162(4) of the Education Act 2002. 11 to 13 June 2024  The outcome of this part of the inspection is: the school meets the

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independent school standards relevant to the material change. The

material change has already been implemented.  Arrangements are made to safeguard and promote the welfare of all pupils in the school. There is an effective health and safety and risk assessment policy, and the proprietor has ensured compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The new school building has suitable toilet and washing facilities which are separate for boys and girls. All pupils have access to changing accommodation and showers for when they partake in physical education. Suitable accommodation is provided to cater for pupils’ medical needs. All areas of the building are well lit, including externally. Suitable drinking-water facilities are provided and are clearly marked. Leaders fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently and actively promote the well-being of pupils.

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Inspection team

Simon Conway, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Jonathan Newby Ofsted Inspector 11 to 13 June 2024 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

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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