Towers Junior School, in Windsor Road, Hornchurch, has been judged to have maintained its ‘good’ standards at an ungraded Ofsted inspection in November.
Ungraded inspections are used by Ofsted to check whether effective action has been taken by ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ schools to maintain the standards identified at their previous inspection.
In a report published on January 13, Ofsted deemed Towers Junior School to be a “safe environment” where every pupil feels “known, valued and encouraged to be their best”.
A big part of this “strong sense of community” identified by Ofsted inspectors is the school’s worry bear – an idea launched by the pupil-led wellbeing committee.
According to the report, pupils can drop worry notes in the rucksack of “Timmy the Trouble Monitor bear”, which staff check daily, addressing “even the smallest issue”.
Ofsted found that pupils “achieve well” at Towers Junior, and this is down to an “ambitious curriculum” designed by leaders.
Reading is “prioritised”, inspectors said, so that pupils have access to the full curriculum and develop a “genuine love of reading”.
Lead inspector Lisa Smith said in the report: “Pupils have opportunities to visit the local library and pupils read daily.
“The school provides many opportunities for pupils to read, including the mock ‘coffee bar’, the reading corner in the ‘hub’ and even the staged bathtub in the school foyer to promote the idea that ‘one can read anywhere’.”
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Pupils can also be reading or science ambassadors, something that Ofsted noted is provided by the junior school alongside a “well-designed programme of enrichment”.
According to the report, pupils get to explore the local area through educational visits, and “spoke with joy” about recent visits to the Science Museum and Rainham Marshes.
Ms Smith said in the report: “The school places pupils’ wider development at the core of what it does.
“They are supported to value their individuality, culture and respect for others.”
The Recorder has contacted Towers Junior School for comment but it has not responded.
