Greenwich House School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 16 April 2024

Greenwich School is rooted in positive relationships. Pupils and staff work harmoniously. Pupils are proud of the small-school ethos. As one pupil said: 'We all know each other. We all get on. We're like one big family.' The school's values are well known and understood. Pupils say that teamwork, resilience, pride, ambition, difference, compassion and respect help them to work hard and to make a positive contribution, both within and beyond the school. Pupils behave well. They are enthusiastic about the rewards on offer, including 'Stars' and reading awards. They look forward to assemblies when they recognise and celebrate each other's successes. Pupils know what happens in the event of poor behaviour. However, they say that this rarely occurs. The school's records confirm this. Pupils benefit from a wide range of sporting and creative activities beyond the curriculum. Golf, cross country and the opportunity to learn a wide range of musical instruments are highly valued. The weekly cooking club is a particular favourite of pupils, especially when preparing sushi dishes. The school takes good care of its pupils. There is a strong pastoral care offer that promotes and supports pupils' individual social, emotional and mental health needs.

What the school should improve

• In a small number of subjects, the curriculum does not make clear the underpinning knowledge that pupils are expected to acquire to master the skills they are developing. As a result, there is an inconsistent understanding of the precise content that pupils are expected to commit to their long-term memory. The school should ensure that the curriculum, across all subjects, makes clear the precise content that pupils are expected to know and remember so that they are able to develop the identified skills securely.
• There are limited opportunities for pupils to take on additional roles and responsibilities around the school. This means that pupils are not able to develop their leadership skills and experience as broadly as they could. The school should ensure that there are the necessary opportunities available to pupils to enable them to develop their leadership skills and make an increased positive contribution to the day-to-day life of the school.
• The school does not have a systematic approach for checking how well pupils learn and remember the precise content of the curriculum. There is an inconsistent understanding of what the school's priorities for development are. This means that staff do not have a fully rounded view of what it is that they need to do to bring about further improvements in the school. The school should ensure that the approach to quality assurance and to improvement is systematic and enables all staff to understand what is working well and what can be improved further.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)