Seven Mills Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 11 July 2023

Seven Mills is a friendly primary school, nestled under the towers of Canary Wharf and serving its local community. Pupils appreciate the wider opportunities their school provides, like learning to surf on the Kent coast. One pupil, echoing the views of many, said: 'Teachers are kind, and they help you when you are stuck with your learning. I feel safe in this school.' Leaders are ambitious for all pupils. They ensure that there are high levels of expertise in teaching early reading and developing pupils' spoken English. This particularly benefits the many pupils who speak English as an additional language. All pupils learn and achieve well here. From their first days, pupils benefit from adults' care and attention. In the early years, adults teach children how to follow the day-to-day routines of school life, and the skills that they need, like sharing and taking turns. Older pupils show high levels of respect to staff. For example, they settle down quickly in lessons and get on sensibly with their work. Pupils get on well with each other and incidents of bullying are rare. Adults are quick to sort out any problems. They ensure that pupils behave well and that they are kept safe.

What the school should improve

• Sometimes, teachers' checking of pupils' understanding is not secure. This can lead to pupils developing gaps in their knowledge and skills. Leaders need to ensure that teachers routinely check and address pupils' misconceptions quickly, so that they are ready for future learning.
• In some foundation subjects, leaders' curricular thinking does not identify the subject-specific knowledge that pupils must learn before moving on to new content. This holds pupils back in deepening their subject knowledge and understanding. Leaders should ensure that their thinking in all foundation subjects helps pupils to build securely on their subject-specific knowledge.

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