Smallwood school Post Reply

[Amme_2005]

Hi all

Just logged onto eAdmissions and found out my daughter has got into Smallwood School. Aside from the shock of not getting into EP and getting our 6th place school, I am keen to hear from parents with children there and their thoughts and experience.

The Ofsted report from March is quite encouraging which is helping put my mind to rest

Thank you

[LauraBrown]

I am a governor at Smallwood and have been involved since 2010. It is a great school with an incredibly committed Head and staff team. The recent Ofsted is a great testament to the school and, as you will have seen, rated the school as Good with Outstandig Leadership and Management. I would massively encourage you to have a look round - the Head is very happy to give parents tours of the school and talk them through all the details. The children are exceptionally well-behaved and there is a focus on helping every child make as much progress and achieve as much as possible. On the wall of the Head's office he had a notice board which shows every child in the school, what level they are at and how that compares with where he would like them to be (colour coded) so he can immediately see how every child is progressing and quickly identify trends across the different classes.

The school has a strong emphasis on performance with regular shows and performances, amazing dance lessons and taking advantage of the presence of Oily Cart theatre company which is situated on the same site.

There is a newly built Reception block with state-of-the-art facilities, a lovely school field and a blossoming Friends of Smallwood group.

Hope that's helpful and loads of luck with your decisions!
Laura

[Issybizzy]

Similar to the first post my daughter has also been offered a place at Smallwood. I am interested to know of other families in Earlsfield in the same position and if they are accepting the place. I have visited the school and the facilities are good and the Head was impressive. The new Ofstead report does back up the progress of the school he discussed.

[Abby Blyth]

I have been associated with Smallwood school for many years now. I have 2 children who attend the school, both love it and are making good progress. The children are well behaved and are given a variety of opportunities including school trips, a fantastic dance programme and most importantly taught acceptance and patience for others with the inclusion base being part of the school. The teachers are very approachable and do everything for the children in their class and teaching has consistently been improving over the past few years. The reported SATS results are not a clear picture for the mainstream class, where actually almost 100% of the children recieved Level 4 or above in Year 6.
I think Smallwood is an up and coming school with a superb management team leading the vision for the future. I think you will be pleasantly surprised!

[Bewler]

Hello

My daughter has also been offered a place at Smallwood. Being just the wrong side of Burntwood Lane we knew we wouldn't get EP but we will stay on the waiting list. Although Smallwood was our 4th choice school I was really impressed when I looked round and I took my baby to the smallwood childrens centre this week which was also really nice. The only thing that worries me is the percentage of students for whom English is not a first language and whether this impacts on the progress of native English speaking children. I'd love to hear from any mums of Smallwood pupils whether that is their experience or not. Also are other people hanging on for places elsewhere?

[Earlsfield mummy]

Hello,

As a mum living in Earlsfield and a Smallwood governor, I would also voice the support of others. Smallwood has a better Ofsted report than Earlsfield (if you care about those sort of things) and under a stricter inspection regime. In my opinion it is now Earlsfield/Tooting's best kept secret!

There is no denying that Smallwood had a bad reputation a few years ago but those days are well and truly gone. The head has completely turned the school around and leads a committed and enthusiastic staff who ensure that children achieve very highly (the league tables are very misleading as they don't show the fact that the children from the separate language base are also included and they reach lower levels of attainment). I would encourage you to discuss any concerns that you have with the head. I know that he will be very happy to talk over your worries.

Add the high attainment and great staff to a very well equipped school with a brand new nursery building and the excellent extra-curricular program (dance and music are particularly well supported there with a fantastic specialist dance teacher and a music suite at the top of the school) and it adds up to a really good learning environment.

I have a young child myself (not school age yet) and I wouldn't recommend any school to others that I don't think provides a really good education. Smallwood does.

[Bewler]

Well I've just signed the form accepting the place feeling a lot more positive and actually quite excited! If nearer the time anyone would like to meet up and introduce our future classmates please get in touch.

[Amme_2005]

Thanks for the replies - def feeling better about the school offered esp as I have discovered that we are 35th on the waitlist for EP! So Smallwood it will be!

Bewler - a meet up would be great in the next few months. Would be good o get to know a few faces (mums and children) before school starts!

[sally1]

We have two children at Smallwood and they Love it...they can't wait for school tomorrow especially to see whether the baby chicks have arrived! The school really deserved its fantastic ofsted result...one of the things they noted was that 'good quality relationships between adults and pupils are a defining feature of the school' something that is very important to me as a parent. In our experience the teachers really care for the children and there is a genuine community feel! I wouldn't worry about the percentage of children who speak another language...the school are brilliant at inclusion of all pupils without compromising on standards. The head teacher is amazing...very committed to the children, parents, staff and school...has lots of vision and innovative ideas to help the children flourish. Hope your children will have as much fun learning at Smallwood as ours do!

[nathanbaden]

I have 2 boys at Smallwood - in nursery and Year 2. To say they love school would be an understatement, and if you spend any short amount of time with the pupils and staff, it's easy to see why. The kids appear to have a genuine bond with their teachers and this is reciprocated in their interaction with other adults and each other. I, personally, have spent extended periods of time with different year groups, actively taking part in their lessons and accompanying them on school trips. I have also joined a group of parents who work both independently and with the kids and staff, to engage with other parents and the wider community. As a parent above says, Smallwood truly is one of Wandsworth's hidden gems and the latest Ofsted report does indeed reflect this. But once you've experienced first hand the positive and respectful atmosphere that has been created by Headteacher Martin Roughley and his team, you'll see that there's even more to Smallwood Primary than a decent survey.

[Emma 77]

My 2 girls go to Smallwood School and I am absolutely delighted with the school. The care and attention both my girls receive from the staff is amazing. I have one daughter in the language unit and one in nursery and I am constantly surprised that everyone, including the other pupils know their names. The staff and management team have done an incredible job turning the school around and put great emphasis on achieving great academic results but also on the wellbeing and inclusion of all the children. I genuinely cannot recommend it enough, so would urge you to visit the school and tell as many people as you can that they should be selecting Smallwood as their number one choice.

[New to Earlsfield]

I too have been offered a place at Smallwood. Although my daughter has attended Earlsfield nursery for a year, like many others we have not been offered a reception place. I haven't even been to see Smallwood yet but am delighted to hear these comments and would be very keen to arrange a get together.

[EarlsfieldDad]

Hi all

As most of you will know, the council have decided to create a bulge class at Smallwood to accommodate the parents in the Earlsfield area allocated to Mosaic, like myself. So great to see the positive reviews on here.

My attention is now turning to how to solve the question of wrap around care to work out what the options are. I understand the school run a breakfast club (from 8am?) and there is an indep company that run an after school care service (not sure who, or what time it ends ?). Would be great to hear from any existing parents using these services about how they work and how they rate them?

Thanks in advance