The Grange School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 23 April 2024

Pupils feel respected and respect others at this very happy school. The school has successfully created a positive and optimistic community based on its 'we can' ethos. The members of the 'Skippers' pupil leadership group embody this mantra and are tremendous advocates for the school and their peers. Staff are ambitious for all pupils. The school offers a broad curriculum in Years 7 to 11 which leads on to thoughtfully selected academic and vocational courses in the sixth form. Staff's belief that all pupils can achieve highly is transferred to pupils, who are confident and aspirational about their futures. Recent curriculum developments are increasingly evident in current pupils' achievement. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, this is not yet reflected in published outcomes, particularly for more disadvantaged pupils. Staff have high expectations for behaviour and manners. The school has clear routines to support this. Most importantly, staff nurture excellent relationships with pupils and sixth-form students are also strong role models. Consequently, pupils behave very well in lessons and social time and bullying is very rare. Pupils feel extremely safe and supported. They are confident to go to staff with any concerns, and that staff will address them effectively.

What the school should improve

• Curriculum thinking in a few areas is not as robust as it is overall. Sometimes teaching does not always help all pupils to embed the knowledge, skills and understanding they need. Consequently, some pupils do not achieve as highly as they could. The school should continue to refine and embed teachers' understanding of how to select pedagogical approaches so that all pupils can apply their learning with increasing fluency and independence.
• The intended impact of some key school strategies and systems is not always as sharply focused as it could be. Sometimes there are different approaches across different teams with a lack of clarity as to purpose. The school should ensure that all staff and governors fully understand the rationale and intended impact of strategies and systems, so that they are clear in their monitoring and can implement more precisely targeted actions as a result.

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