Greenbank High School

Overview

Greenbank High School is a girls’ academy where pupils are “happy” and “value the education that they receive.” The report describes a school where leaders have designed a “well-thought-out and ambitious curriculum” that supports all pupils, including those with special educational needs, to achieve well. Staff maintain high expectations, resulting in pupils who are “focused fully on their learning” and behave well.

Strengths

• The curriculum is carefully structured, helping pupils to “build securely on earlier learning” and develop a “secure understanding of key concepts.”
• Teachers use effective assessment methods to identify misconceptions quickly, ensuring pupils are “secure in what they have learned previously.”
• Support for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs is robust, with needs identified “quickly and accurately.”
• A “plethora of extra-curricular and enrichment activities” sparks pupils’ imaginations, including sports, music, and library activities.
• Safeguarding arrangements are “effective,” with staff well-informed about risks and engaging well with external agencies.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must address low attendance rates for a small number of pupils who are “absent from school too often,” removing barriers to ensure regular attendance.
• Leaders should ensure their evaluation of the personal development programme is “robust” so that all pupils take full advantage of enrichment and pastoral offers.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective,” noting that staff receive regular training and understand systems to report concerns, ensuring vulnerable pupils receive necessary support.