Reading Girls' School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 24 November 2021

Pupils are very proud of their school. They are keen to achieve academically and are exceptionally ambitious for their futures. Everyone recognises the school's very high expectations and the extensive improvements that have been made over recent years. In particular, pupils appreciate the dedicated, specialist teaching they receive. Alongside this, pupils are confident to ask for any help and support they may need to achieve their very best. Pupils take a leading role in many aspects of the school. Prefects, and mental health and bullying ambassadors provide valuable support to their peers in times of need. Bullying is very rare because pupils treat each other with kindness and care. Staff and pupils value how much they can learn from their diverse school community. They respect each other's views and nurture everyone's differences. Leaders provide a vast array of opportunities for pupils to find out about life outside of school. Strong links with businesses, academic institutions and charities give pupils real-life experiences that enhance their learning. Pupils are passionate about their 'Take the Pledge' projects. They are keen to raise awareness of different issues that affect their friends as well as making a difference in their local community.

What the school should improve

• The carefully planned and sequenced curriculum is not securely and consistently embedded across all subjects. This means that all pupils are not always confident in recalling and using the identified key knowledge and skills. Leaders should continue to monitor the full implementation of the curriculum, to ensure all pupils know and remember more across every subject.
• There is a lack of coherence around the personal development offer for pupils. While pupils experience many different interesting opportunities, including personal development days, these are disjointed. Pupils therefore do not confidently build their knowledge and understanding of aspects of the PSHE curriculum. Leaders must look carefully at the current provision to consider how the planning and implementation of this curriculum can have more coherence and continuity.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)