A state-funded school in Chandler’s Ford has received the area’s first non-graded Ofsted report since rules changed in September.

Toynbee School was been praised by the education regulators throughout the report for their “inclusive culture, where all are welcome, regardless of background or need.”

From September 2024, schools funded by the government will no longer be given headline grades, such as “requires improvement,” “good” or “outstanding,” in hopes of encouraging parents to read the full report.

At the end of October, Ofsted attended and described Toynbee School as one where “staff share the strong belief that all pupils can succeed and flourish.”

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Toynbee School has the "only purpose-built secondary resource centre in Hampshire" that is "fully equipped to support the needs of 20 pupils with a vision impairment aged 11 to 16".

The school say that pupils travel in from across Hampshire to access these services, and Ofsted praised how there are “high levels of respect between pupils.”

Headteacher Matthew Longden took charge at the school in 2009.

He said that the school was “absolutely thrilled” with the outcome of the inspection.

Mr Longden said: “The hard work and dedication of pupils and staff everyday is key to our success. We are truly a school that is caring, inclusive and successful.

“I am extremely proud to be the Headteacher and we look forward to improving the school further.”

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The report did note though that there is “variation in how well the curriculum is implemented,” resulting in some pupils not achieving as highly “as they could.”

Ofsted encouraged the school to support staff’s understanding of teaching techniques so that they can be applied “consistently” in all areas.

The school’s reading strategy, while new, was noted as “not yet embedded” by the investigators, suggesting that pupils who need extra help “do not catch up with their peers quickly enough.”

This was Toynbee School’s first inspection since the coronavirus pandemic began and inspectors discussed the impact of this.

Ofsted made the change to scrap headline grades – such as “requires improvement, good or outstanding” – for state-funded schools in September 2024 following the suicide of headteacher Ruth Perry.