North Ridge High School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school. North Ridge offers an exceptional quality of education and care to its students. As a result of the outstanding leadership of the headteacher and highly skilled teaching and support, students achieve outstandingly well.

Teachers set ambitious targets for their students and plan work which is well-matched to their needs so that they all make at least expected progress. A high proportion of students make more than expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics and in other subjects. Behaviour is excellent across the school day.

Students enjoy their lessons and attend extremely well. Behaviour is managed very skilfully with g...reat respect for the needs of the students so that incidents rarely disrupt learning. Students feel very safe and secure.

They enjoy strong supportive relationships with staff and develop friendships with other students which help them to feel settled and contribute particularly well to their learning. The school provides outstanding care, guidance and support to its students. Work with parents and other professionals to support individuals in school, at home and in other settings is of an exceptionally high quality.

The sixth-form provision is outstanding. Students make outstanding progress in becoming independent and in life skills in school and in the community. They are as well prepared as they can be for their future lives.

Due to its outstanding reputation, the school has plans in place to increase the sixth-form provision to meet demand for places and improve the provision further. Leaders at all levels, including governors and middle leaders, ensure the very best for students through outstanding teamwork. They have taken highly effective action to appoint and develop the skills of the exceptionally committed staff so that the quality of teaching, support and achievement is constantly improving.

Schools in the surrounding district are extremely appreciative of the very high-quality support, guidance and training in special educational needs which the school provides.

Information about this school

All students have a statement of special educational needs for moderate to severe and profound and multiple learning difficulties. Some students have additional complex learning, sensory or physical needs; there is a growing number of students with high dependency medical needs or autism spectrum conditions.

About a third of students are in the sixth form and this is a growing area of the provision with an agreement with the local authority to take an additional 30 students. Although the majority of students join the school at Year 7, they can be admitted at any time in their secondary education, sometimes after periods out of school, due to the breakdown of previous placements. An extremely high proportion of students are supported by the pupil premium, which provides extra funding for those students who are known to be eligible for free school meals, children from service families and those children who are looked after by the local authority.

The proportion of students from minority ethnic backgrounds and those who speak English as an additional language is also high, at more than twice the national average. Some of the most able students in the sixth form are based at a satellite provision in North Manchester General Hospital. Students at Key Stage 4 attend courses at Hopwood Hall College.

Students attend work-experience placements with a range of providers in the community. The school is commissioned by the local authority to offer outreach support, guidance and training to mainstream schools in the north district of Manchester. The school has achieved Rights Respecting Schools Awards.

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