Trafalgar Junior School, which was inspected in June has been rated 'good' following routine inspections from Ofsted.

Trafalgar Junior School, which is part of the Trafalgar Federation, takes students aged seven to eleven. 

Following two 'Required Improvement' ratings in 2019 the school has now achieved a rating of 'good'. 

Ofsted found that pupils were well behaved in class and that staff want the pupils to benefit from everything that the school has to offer, such as clubs and residential visits. 

They also found that staff prioritise reading and that staff work together with external professionals such as therapists, who provide training for teachers and teaching assistants so that teachers can make adaptations for teaching pupils with special educational needs (SEND). 

The report said: "Pupils are happy in school. A sentiment shared by many is that there is a friend for everyone at this school.

"Pupils enjoy helping others and taking care of the school. They willingly on additional responsibilities. For example, at breaktimes, anti-bullying ambassadors help pupils sort out any problems that may arise. Pupils in Year 5 take on the role of 'buddy' to pupils in Year 2 in the federated infant school. This helps pupils in the infant school prepare to move up to the junior school smoothly. 

Adding: "Typically, pupils live up to leaders' high expectations for behaviour. They behave appropriately both in class and around the school. If any bullying occurs, leaders deal with it swiftly and effectively."

The report noted that on the whole the curriculum matches the scope and ambition of the national curriculum but in some subjects knowledge is not sequenced as effectively as in others and important changes in curriculum thinking have not been made explicit to teachers which means that sometimes teaching does not emphasise the most important information. 

Inspectors also found that safeguarding arrangements at the school are effective and that staff at the school feel highly valued. 

In a statement, the school said: Trafalgar Junior School are really pleased to have reclaimed their 'Good' grading from OFSTED after finally having their long-awaited inspection in the summer term.   

"In 2019, the school had received a 'Requires Improvement' rating under a heavily revised Ofsted framework that had only been in place a matter of days. The recovery was a long and challenging journey by the dedicated staff with many of the improvements being made while also dealing with the pressures of the COVID pandemic. 

They added that The Richmond Borough's 'Achieving for Children' has been a huge support for the school along with other local schools' networks. Rigorous audits, training and Local Authority visits have created huge workload pressures and put considerable stress on our staff and the leadership team in the lead up to the inspection. 

The statement said: "Whilst staff are proud of their achievements and the 'Good' grade, there is a lot that is done in our school which goes above and beyond the 'Good' rating. Trafalgar staff are certainly not sitting back and resting on the positive school inspection grade but continue to be busy doing the things they do exceptionally well every single day. As a Headteacher of the federated schools, I am looking ahead in hopeful anticipation of a revised OFSTED process to support ongoing school improvement in a more collaborative way. The well-being of our children is dependent on the well-being of our staff."

The statement also said that the achievement was a testament to the continued improvement and effort put in by staff.