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06
Dec 2023
Harrogate's Grove Road remains a ‘good’ school, says Ofsted
Grove Road Community Primary School in Harrogate has retained its ‘good’ rating by Ofsted.
The findings were published in a report today, following an inspection in October.
Grove Road was previously rated ‘good’ in 2018. Ofsted carries out short routine inspections every four years to confirm schools previously assessed as ‘good’ have maintained standards.
Government inspectors said the pupils at the 307-pupil school are “happy, friendly and confident” and have “positive attitudes to learning.”
It added:
Ofsted praised the school for its “coherently planned and sequenced curriculum” and said it breaks learning into small steps.
Inspectors also said that in some subjects, such as maths, pupils can “talk about their learning confidently” and show how their knowledge is building over time.
The school “quickly identifies” any children with potential special education needs and/or disabilities (SEND), inspectors added, and found those with SEND are “fully included in the life of the school".
They added:
The report said staff are "proud" to work at the school.
Read more:
- Moorside Primary School in Ripon rated 'good' by Ofsted
- Bilton Grange remains a 'good' school, says Ofsted
Areas of improvement
However, inspectors did note some areas the school could improve on.
Although the school is “ambitious for its pupils”, the report said this is not currently reflected in pupils’ achievement. But, leaders are taking action to ensure that outcomes for pupils improve, it added.
Inspectors praised the curriculum but said some leaders’ checks on what is taught and how it is taught are not “sufficiently rigorous”.
They said, as a result, some leaders have an “overly positive” view of how well the curriculum in their subject is implemented.
'A special place to learn'
The inspection came after what Ofsted described as a period of “turbulence” in leadership and staff in recent years.
In the academic year 2021/2022, the school was in the highest 20% of all schools nationally for staff turnover and teacher absence.
New headteacher James Grayston said:
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