Trafford Alternative Education Provision

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 25 March 2025

Pupils thrive at this warm and inclusive school. They benefit from a culture that celebrates diversity and difference. Pupils join the school having had difficulties in previous settings. Staff transform many pupils' lives by helping them to get back on track with their education. Pupils enjoy warm and nurturing relationships with staff, who know them well. They help pupils to regulate their behaviour and to manage their emotions. Staff notice when pupils experience distress or discomfort, and they respond quickly and sensitively. This helps pupils to feel happy and know that they are in safe hands. Pupils, all of whom have special educational needs and/or disabilities, achieve well and are suitably prepared for their next steps. These might be to move back into a mainstream secondary school or another destination that is right for them. This success is because staff understand pupils' learning needs and prioritise the rebuilding of their enthusiasm for learning. Pupils' personal development is at the heart of this school. The school threads opportunities for personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) into each day. This, along with a sharp focus on pupils' emotional growth, enables pupils to develop their resilience and self-belief.

What the school should improve

• In a small number of subjects, the school has not fully considered exactly what pupils should learn and in what order. This hinders some pupils from achieving as highly as they could. The school should finalise the curriculum content in these subjects to ensure that teachers know exactly what knowledge pupils must learn and when they should learn it.
• In a few subjects, the school has not ensured that the delivery of the curriculum is as secure as it could be. Where this is the case, some of the activities chosen do not always help pupils to learn the intended curriculum as well as they could. The school should ensure that teachers have the knowledge and skills that they need to implement these subject curriculums successfully.
• There are occasions when checks on pupils' learning are not used effectively. Where this happens, teachers are not clear about what pupils have learned and where there might be gaps in pupils' knowledge. The school should ensure that teachers have a clear understanding of exactly where pupils are in their learning and use this information to precisely determine pupils' next steps.

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