High Grange School

High Grange School is an independent specialist school for pupils with autism, and all pupils have education, health and care plans. In this June 2026 inspection, the school performs strongly overall: achievement, attendance and behaviour, inclusion, leadership and governance, personal development and wellbeing, and post-16 provision are all judged strong standard, and safeguarding standards are met. Curriculum and teaching is judged expected standard, with the school still meeting all independent school standards. Key strengths include very strong pupil progress and preparation for next steps, positive attendance with persistent absence below mainstream levels, and highly positive behaviour with serious incidents reduced. The school has deep autism expertise, uses personalised My ACE targets and multidisciplinary therapy, and creates a highly inclusive culture. Leadership is meticulous, governance is effective, staff feel well supported, and pupils and families are listened to. Enrichment, careers education and post-16 pathways are also strong. The main area for development is early reading and writing. The school is refining its curriculum for reading and writing, but there are minor inconsistencies in how well the most important foundations, including phonics and handwriting, are identified and taught. Pupils catch up over time despite this. The next step is to continue developing early reading and writing so that gaps in essential knowledge are consistently identified and addressed quickly.

Strengths

• Pupils progress and achieve very well from a broad range of starting points.
• Highly effective personal development prepares pupils well for life beyond school.
• Attendance is positive and persistent absence is lower than in mainstream schools.
• Behaviour is highly positive, with serious incidents reduced significantly and suspensions used appropriately.
• The school has deep autism expertise and provides highly personalised, inclusive support.
• Multidisciplinary therapy and academic study are seamlessly connected.
• Staff are well trained, including in trauma-informed practice, and adapt teaching effectively.
• Leadership has a meticulous understanding of the school and independent school standards are met.
• Governance provides appropriate challenge and support with a clear ambitious vision.
• Staff workload and wellbeing are prioritised, and staff are proud to work at the school.
• Pupils benefit from rich PSHE/RSE, the ACE ethos, enrichment and careers education.
• Post-16 provision is ambitious, personalised, and leads to meaningful employment, education or training.
• The curriculum is well planned and sequenced, and leaders intervene quickly when pupils fall behind.
• Pupils feel safe and are kept safe; bullying is rare and dealt with robustly.

Areas for Improvement

• The curriculum for early reading and writing is not yet fully consistent, including phonics and handwriting.
• Some minor inconsistencies remain in identifying and addressing the most important foundations for reading and writing.
• Pupils are not always supported to form letters correctly and fluently as quickly as they could.
• Curriculum and teaching is the only area judged at expected standard rather than strong standard.

In 2025–26, 0.0% of pupils at High Grange School were on SEN support (nationally 18.4%) and 100.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 7.9%).

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded independent school schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

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What is High Grange School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for High Grange School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was High Grange School last inspected by Ofsted?

High Grange School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does High Grange School have?

High Grange School has 94 pupils on roll.

What age range does High Grange School cover?

High Grange School for pupils aged 5 to 19.

Where is High Grange School?

High Grange School is at Hospital Lane, Mickleover, Derbyshire, DE3 0DR.