Swiss Gardens Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

There is an exceptionally strong sense of community between the pupils, staff, parents and carers at Swiss Gardens Primary school. Staff know their pupils well, and pupils readily rise to meet the high expectations that staff have of them.

Behaviour is exceptionally calm and settled, including during social times, where pupils play happily together. Pupils move purposefully between lessons as they are keen to get going with their learning. They see behaviour as a shared responsibility, supporting one another to do the right thing.

They embody the 'FREE' school values of friendship, respect, excellence and enjoyment.

This is a highly inclusive school. Pupils t...alk confidently about why it is important that everyone is valued and can offer their own contributions to making their school better.

They value the range of opportunities they have to contribute to their school community, such as being eco, sports and kindness ambassadors.

Pupils feel safe in this school and bullying is rare. Pupils know how to report any concerns or worries that they have, and all can name staff they are confident to speak to if they need to, which is indicative of the warm and supportive relationships they have with staff.

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

Leaders have designed a curriculum across subjects that gives careful thought to what all pupils need to know, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This builds effectively from the early years upwards, ensuring that strong foundations for learning are established early and then built on effectively as pupils progress through the school. In early reading and in mathematics, this sequence has carefully identified the small steps of knowledge that pupils need, leading to precise teaching in lessons.

As a result, pupils achieve well. In some foundation subjects, however, these small steps have not yet been identified as closely. This means that, on occasion, lesson activities are not always as precisely linked to the intended learning as they could be.

In mathematics and early reading, teachers routinely assess what pupils know and can remember during their lessons. Teachers use this information to adapt what they teach to inform pupils' next steps, ensuring that any misunderstandings are resolved quickly. In other foundation subjects, while teachers do check pupils' understanding, this is not done as precisely as in reading and mathematics.

Early reading is taught effectively. Children benefit from targeted and specific sessions to support with any particular needs, helping them to develop the skills they need to become increasingly fluent and confident readers.

Leaders promote reading throughout the school.

Pupils love the improved and enlarged library space and the reading corners in each classroom. Staff share a vibrant range of stories and books from the early years onwards, setting the foundations for a love of reading from the earliest stages.

Leaders have ensured that staff are well trained to identify and meet the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND.

Lesson activities are well adapted to ensure that pupils' needs are met. Leaders have established a highly effective pastoral team whose members work together to ensure that all pupils, including those in need of additional emotional or behavioural support, are given the tools they need to thrive.

In the early years, like elsewhere in the school, there are warm and positive relationships between staff and children.

Children engage happily in a range of different activities, which are well thought out to support their learning. Staff model strong communication and, as a result, children are increasingly confident at talking to one another and to visitors.

In lessons across the school, pupils are keen and enthusiastic learners.

They engage with activities readily, and are keen to get involved and show what they can do.

Outside of the curriculum, leaders have constructed a broad offer of opportunities for pupils to develop their wider cultural experience. These include visits from artists, and opportunities to attend a national opera.

Pupils also develop their leadership skills through the school council or being school captains. They are enthusiastic about the range of clubs on offer, such as football, French, karate and the samba band.

Leaders know their school well and carefully identify the actions they need to take to develop it.

They work effectively with governors and school improvement partners from the local authority to evaluate the impact of their actions. This helps them to know that their actions are having the impact they want them to. Work on the curriculum over the last few years has resulted in improved opportunities for pupils to learn and develop.

They reflect routinely on how to make things better still.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is an effective culture of safeguarding at the school.

Staff receive appropriate training which is regularly updated, meaning that they know how to identify and refer any pupils who might be at risk. They know their pupils well, and there are detailed records kept of any concerns. Concerns are acted on quickly, and leaders liaise well with external agencies as needed.

Leaders complete appropriate checks to ensure that adults are safe to work with children. Governors know their safeguarding responsibilities and hold leaders to account.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have not yet identified precisely enough the small steps of component knowledge in the recently developed foundation curriculum.

This means that in some lessons, activity choices are not always precisely matched to the intended learning, and teachers' assessment of what pupils have learned is not as precise as it could be. Leaders need to ensure that the specific elements of knowledge have been agreed in the foundation subjects, as is the case for mathematics and early reading. This will enable teachers to plan effective activities and assess what pupils have understood to support all pupils in achieving well.

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