Theale Green School receives Good Ofsted rating following last month's inspection

Theale Green School school is celebrating after a recent Ofsted report upgraded its rating from Requires Improvement to Good.

The school was awarded a Good rating in all areas following its inspection on Wednesday, May 4 and Thursday, May 5.

The school had undergone numerous poor inspections since 2010, which culminated in Theale Green being given a Requires Improvement rating in its previous Ofsted inspection in May 2017.

However, in its first inspection since the pandemic, Theale Green was praised by inspectors for its leadership, curriculum and extremely effective pastoral support.

Theale Green headteacher Joanna Halliday said: “I am so incredibly proud of the students and the staff at Theale Green School.

“We are a community school in every sense and this inspection is a reflection of the strength of the relationships and networks we have built within our community, our trust and the wider world.

“We have developed a culture, which is reflected brilliantly in the report, from which we can continue to grow and develop.”

The report begins: “Pupils are proud of their school. All pupils spoken to said they would recommend it.

“Pupils feel safe and happy. They say bullying is rare and, when it does occur, teachers sort it out. Expectations of pupils are high.

“Relationships between staff and pupils are respectful and conflict is rare. Pastoral support is extremely effective.”

Inspectors praised the school’s curriculum, describing it as, “ambitious, well considered and carefully constructed”.

They were also impressed by Theale Green’s teaching staff, saying: “Teachers have strong subject knowledge. This is observed through their confident exposition in the classroom.”

The inspection report noted that pupils with special educational needs had full access to the school’s curriculum, and made progress towards their goals along with the rest of the student body.

The inspection report also praised the school’s extra-curricular programme: “Pupils benefit from a wide range of opportunities to support their wider personal development.

“They speak highly of the broad extra-curricular programme. Uptake is high and the provision for arts and sport is extensive. Recent additions to the programme include a philosophy club, a humanist society and a coding club.”

The sixth form was described as “thriving” by inspectors, with staying on rates being high and two thirds of sixth form students at Theale Green continuing on to study at university.

The only area the report deemed that Theale Green could improve upon is ensuring the school’s curriculum implementation could be implemented across all subjects.

“Assessment practices are still being incorporated in some subjects, “the report says. “As a result, teachers are not always clear how to adapt their lessons to maximise learning in these subjects.”