Armley Grange: New Leeds autism school told to improve by Ofsted over education and leadership concerns

Armley Grange School, on Armley Grange Drive, has been rated as Requires Improvement overall in a new report published by Ofsted.

The school was rated Requires Improvement in the categories of quality of education and leadership and management, following the Ofsted inspection which took place in October and November 2023.

The school, which only opened last year, provides education for children and young people aged 8 - 18 who are on the autism spectrum.

In its newly-published report, the education watchdog said: "In some academic subject areas, the key knowledge the school wants pupils to learn has not been identified. Staff need more curriculum guidance to ensure that the curriculum helps pupils to learn more and do more over time.

"Staff do not routinely check pupils’ learning in some subjects, although there are plans in hand to strengthen the quality assurance of the subject-specific curriculum."

The school was rated as Good in the behaviour and attitudes and personal development categories of Ofsted's report.

Inspectors praised staff for their work helping pupils to develop trust and positivity about school, as well supporting pupils to share "thoughts and feelings constructively" and teach them how to communicate with others.

They said: "The school is bright and calm. Most pupils are positive about attending the school. Pupils feel safe here. Pupils value the care and respect that leaders and staff show them.

"Pupils are becoming more willing to discuss their behaviours and recognise how they impact others. Staff remain calm and patient if pupils are at crisis."

They are well supported through a "coherent, connected and consistently applied approach" to the use of therapists’ assessments and recommendations.

The report added: "Pupils speak positively about the support staff give them to calm down. However, record-keeping is not yet consistently used to ensure behaviour issues are recorded in a timely way.

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"This is also the case for safeguarding records. Some instances of pupils’ risk-taking behaviour are not recorded accurately or robustly."

The school is described as having a clear vision for future development and embedding the curriculum, according to the Ofsted report.

Armley Grange has been approached for comment.