Grove House School

Overview

Grove House School continues to be a good school, providing an ambitious and well-planned curriculum tailored to pupils with speech, language, and communication needs. Pupils develop confidence, independence, and strong communication skills through a supportive community that emphasises personal growth alongside academic achievement.

Strengths

• The curriculum is "ambitious for what pupils can achieve," with a core focus on expanding vocabulary and understanding across all subjects.
• Pupils become "confident" and develop "independence skills," leaving with relevant qualifications and the ability to cope with challenges.
• There is a "strong sense of community," with older pupils supporting younger ones and high levels of pupil engagement in extracurricular activities.
• Staff are well-supported by the multi-academy trust, benefiting from regular training that enhances their "specialist subject knowledge."
• Systems for monitoring behaviour, attendance, and safeguarding are "well-developed," ensuring pupils feel safe and supported.

Areas to improve

• Some staff need to further develop their interaction skills to avoid prompting pupils too soon, ensuring all staff support independence and vocabulary development to an "excellent level."
• The curriculum is "not as broad as it could be," particularly in design and technology, requiring further development to offer more choice and clarity to families.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with a culture that puts pupils’ interests first and ensures they know whom to talk to if worried.