East Sheen Primary School is located along the bustling Upper Richmond Road, but visitors are often pleasantly surprised by the expansive and beautifully landscaped grounds that lie beyond the street. The school's green spaces are both abundant and thoughtfully designed, offering a serene and creative environment that remains hidden from view by the road.

We are proud to consistently collaborate with our governors, staff, PTA, and the Pupil Leadership Team to cultivate an outdoor environment that we all take great pride in.

Our school is divided into two main playgrounds: the Putney playground on one side and the Sheen playground on the other, each designed for a variety of games and activities.

In addition to these spaces, the children enjoy access to a large climbing frame, a trim trail, and an astro-turf playing field. We also offer a range of outdoor learning environments, including a sensory garden, a wild garden, and a "growing area," all designed to inspire creativity and exploration.

Early Years

Our wonderful Reception block features a dedicated play and outdoor learning area, offering children exciting opportunities to learn and develop new skills outside the classroom. This space has been thoughtfully designed to provide a fun, engaging environment that takes their learning to the next level.

A similar outdoor learning environment has been established outside the Year 1 classroom, supporting the children's transition from Reception to Year 1. Teachers plan engaging activities in these areas, creating playful, imaginative spaces where children can both learn and have fun.

As a school, we are deeply committed to offering an outdoor environment that is stimulating and challenging for our students. These spaces enhance the curriculum and complement our extended school day programme, encouraging creativity and growth.

We are incredibly grateful to the many parents who help maintain and enrich our school environment. Through their efforts in tending flower beds and cultivating beautiful plants and flowers throughout the school, they make our surroundings more inviting and inspiring for all members of our community.

Our 'Green Journey' began in earnest in 2018, with a collaborative project between the school and parents. At the time, growing awareness of the impact of air quality on health—particularly for children—was gaining local and national attention. Although we are fortunate to have expansive grounds behind the school where children learn and play, our location along the Upper Richmond Road meant potential exposure to harmful pollutants. This motivated us to take action to ensure our children's health and well-being were protected.

The solution to this challenge was to create a green barrier to protect the school from harmful pollutants by installing acoustic fencing, a living ivy wall, and additional green planting throughout the school grounds. To fund this project, the school secured a substantial grant from The Mayor of London’s Greener City Fund, along with contributions from parent donations and the London Borough of Richmond. Over one weekend, the school environment was transformed through a community effort of planting, creating not only an attractive space but also an effective protective barrier.

Since the project’s completion, the school has closely monitored air quality around the site using diffusion tubes, in collaboration with the Senior Environmental Health Pollution Practitioner (Air Quality) at the London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames. The readings have consistently shown that the air quality within the school grounds falls well within the safe limits set by the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010, which stipulate that the annual mean concentration of NO2 must not exceed 40 µg/m³. In fact, recent data reveals that, since the introduction of ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone) and all-electric buses, NO2 levels, even along the roadside, are below this threshold. We continue to be reassured that all readings within the school grounds remain consistently low.

This project has sparked a deep interest in environmental issues amongst our pupils, motivating them to learn more about how we can protect ourselves and the world around us. As part of a collaboration with University College London, children wore air quality monitors in backpacks for a week, both at home and at school. The results provided valuable insights, helping families make informed decisions about safe travel routes to school—walking was found to be the best option—and confirmed that the air quality in school was indeed safe.

Our green wall initiative has also inspired a broader school-wide commitment to becoming an Environmentally Intelligent School. This strategy educates our pupils about environmental challenges and equips them with the knowledge they need to navigate and positively impact the world in the future.