Strand On The Green Infant and Nursery School

At Strand on the Green Infant and Nursery School, we place children at the heart of what we do, cherishing and inspiring them all with an active, engaging, and stimulating curriculum. Our highly experienced and committed staff work hard, in partnership with parents, to ensure every child can experience success. We are proud to be an inclusive school that has the highest expectations for behaviour and learning right from the start.

As an Infant school, we are able to capitalise on our expertise in teaching very young children, using a finely tuned pedagogy that suits our young learners. Whilst our focus is on the basic skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic, this is taught alongside a creative and broad curriculum. Children learn how to work and play together, be healthy, use their imaginations and creativity; all of which develops a love of learning, curiosity, and fun. When the time comes, it is then a smooth and easy transfer to our linked Junior school next door.

We are uniquely situated, tucked away in Strand on the Green within a stone’s throw of the River Thames. Our children love to learn inside and out using our pond, field, meadow and our Forest School areas: active learning gives choice and provides for independence.

If you have visited our school already you will know that children, staff, parents and governors together create a warm, vibrant and welcoming community that is second to none. If you haven’t visited us yet, book a place on one of our regular tours (via the school office) and come and meet us.

Our inspirational and talented teaching team provide an environment that nurtures a love of learning, enquiry, creativity, teamwork and unity. Every child is encouraged to achieve the highest standards possible, in an atmosphere where all success, great or small, is properly celebrated. Progress for all children in basic skills is excellent, no matter their starting points and we are proud of our academic standards. We recognise the importance of developing young children's spoken language and understanding and this is reflected in our emphasis on active learning through play in the Early Years. Our Swan Centre provides specialist teaching and a structured environment for children with Autism who are also able to successfully access sessions in the mainstream school with support.

Our curriculum is truly broad and balanced, with a strong emphasis on supporting children to be happy, healthy and motivated, able to work collaboratively with others and rise confidently to challenges in life. We offer a range of sports activities including PE taught by specialist staff and the daily mile run by KS1 children most days. Music and creativity are promoted through a themed curriculum approach and families can also opt for paid individual instrument tuition if they wish.

We are uniquely situated, tucked away in Strand on the Green, within a stone’s throw of the River Thames in Chiswick. We utilise that locality to the full, with regular educational visits out of school. We work hard on providing high quality learning environments inside and outside including two lovely Early Years outdoor learning areas, a ‘field' and Forest School area.

At Strand on the Green Infant & Nursery School our aim is for each child to achieve his/ her full potential, academically, socially, physically, creatively and spiritually. This will be achieved through a partnership with staff, pupils, parents, governors and the wider community.

Our curriculum takes into account that each pupil is an individual with a mixture of talents and needs. Through our curriculum we aim to nurture and develop this potential for each individual.Our school affords high priority to numeracy, literacy and the ability of pupils to express themselves fluently and confidently. In all subject areas, recognition is given to the importance of first-hand experience and practical tasks in the acquisition and application of knowledge and skills. As a school we are not committed to any one approach to teaching and learning but to using a range of techniques in order to achieve our mission.Our children are active learners and everyone is challenged or supported to engage with the curriculum.

We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage and the National Curriculum but have tailored this to suit the children living in our community and to reflect our local environment. For example, visiting local places of worship and learning through outings to the Gunnesbury Museum and Kew Gardens. These visits are all integral to our curriculum. Some of our visits such as the Science Museum, The National Gallery and West Wittering are further afield. Teachers make learning relevant and exciting, for example there is always a purpose given to Writing. Outdoor learning is valued as much as indoor learning; Nursery and Reception work in outdoor learning areas and all children have the opportunity to learn through a ‘Forest Schools Programme’ and learn social and physical skills at playtime and lunchtimes.

By making sure lessons are fun and engaging, we aim to foster a 'love of learning' so that children approach their tasks with enthusiasm and confidence. Teachers' expectations of what each child is capable of achieving are very high and learning is structured, relevant and stimulating to meet the needs of each child. At the same time, pupils are encouraged to set their own high standards and to learn to appreciate success. Children are encouraged to be independent and are offered a variety of child initiated learning as well as teacher directed tasks.

We are proud of the outstanding behaviour demonstrated by the children at Strand Infants. We believe in provision of a high quality curriculum, with exciting and engaging activities combined with high expectations for learning and behaviour at all times. We encourage all adults and children to use positive language and manners, demonstrating respect and trusting relationships. Our Behaviour Policy is followed calmly, positively and consistently by all staff. Parents and carers work in partnership with the school, celebrating good news about behaviour and working through any challenges together.