Ellis Guilford School Review 2026: A Good-rated Nottingham secondary with clear routines and strong pastoral systems

Ellis Guilford School is a large, non-selective 11 to 16 secondary in Basford, serving Nottingham City families, and part of Creative Education Trust.

The current Principal is Gemma Johnson, appointed on 1 April 2024, with an Executive Principal model also in place. The latest Ofsted inspection judged the school Good (inspection dates 20 and 21 June 2023), with Good grades across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.

A defining feature here is consistency. Formal routines (including a structured start to the day and staggered lunches by year group) are set out clearly, and the school has built multiple reporting routes so that students can raise concerns quickly, including an anonymous safeguarding platform.

The strongest impression from official evidence is a school intent on making expectations visible, then enforcing them fairly. Ofsted describes calm classrooms, high expectations and clear routines, with most pupils behaving well in lessons and around school. That matters for parents because predictability is often what makes learning possible, especially in a large setting.

There is also a deliberate emphasis on belonging and inclusion. The school runs a dedicated Community Hub on site, positioned as open to local residents, not only families currently at the school. Alongside that, students see diversity discussed explicitly through the school’s Diversity Together materials, which cover themes such as cultural ethnicities, foreign nationals, disability, and LGBTQIA+.

Pastoral identity is not just policy language. The school introduced a therapy dog, Coco, in September 2024, with the intention of strengthening wellbeing support in day-to-day school life. The broader safeguarding culture is reinforced through multiple “tell” routes, including staff on duty at breaks and an online reporting mechanism that can be anonymous.

Performance data presents a mixed picture, with clear strengths in breadth and curriculum planning, alongside attainment and progress measures that indicate improvement remains a priority.

On FindMySchool’s GCSE outcomes ranking (based on official data), the school is ranked 3,291st in England and 43rd in Nottingham. This places results below England average overall, in the lower band when benchmarked across England schools.

For headline GCSE metrics Attainment 8 is 37.8 and Progress 8 is -0.43. A negative Progress 8 score indicates that, on average, students make less progress than peers nationally with similar starting points. Parents should read that as a sign that the school is still working to translate its curriculum intent into consistently strong outcomes across the full cohort.

There is some helpful context from the school’s own communications around recent GCSE outcomes, including an emphasis on rising English and mathematics headline thresholds year-on-year, but the detailed figures are not provided in a way that can be reconciled cleanly with the dataset metrics in this review. For families comparing options, the most practical approach is to use FindMySchool’s Local Hub Comparison Tool to view local schools side-by-side on the same measures, then test the “why” during a visit by asking about progress strategies for middle and lower prior attainers.

The school’s teaching model is built around explicit instruction, planned sequencing, and frequent checking for understanding. Ofsted reports that teachers explain new learning clearly, model ways of working and thinking, and use assessment to plan next steps.

Support for literacy is a clear strand. Leaders have developed an approach to reading, including additional classes for pupils who need help, and classroom practice that explicitly teaches vocabulary so pupils can articulate learning more precisely. The implication for parents is that reading is treated as everyone’s business, not a bolt-on intervention for a small group.

Provision for pupils with special educational needs and or disabilities is described as informed by good information-sharing between pastoral and teaching staff, with teachers adapting teaching using that knowledge. Ofsted also notes targeted gateway provision where pupils receive extra support to keep up with peers.

The school is not complacent about areas to strengthen. The latest inspection identifies two practical development points that parents may recognise in daily life, ensuring pupils get more chances to discuss learning in lessons, and tightening conduct when pupils move around the site independently.

As an 11 to 16 school, Ellis Guilford’s main exit point is post-16 progression to further education colleges, sixth forms, apprenticeships, or training providers.

Careers education is embedded as an ongoing process rather than a single Year 11 event. Students are directed towards a careers team, can access a careers office at break times, and use Unifrog for exploration linked to the school’s local context. Ofsted also notes that pupils receive careers advice, visit universities, and learn about a range of workplaces, with past pupils returning to talk about careers such as engineering and media.

For families planning early, it is sensible to ask how the school supports applications for competitive post-16 routes, particularly for students aiming for A-level study elsewhere. The school’s published materials also reference external partnerships within its careers and guidance work, including Nottingham College.

Admissions into Year 7 are coordinated through the local authority. The school’s determined admissions arrangements for 2026 to 2027 set a published admission number of 225 students per year group, with Education, Health and Care Plan placements naming the school taking priority where appropriate.

If the year group is oversubscribed, the policy describes distance as the tie-break within criteria, measured in a straight line from the school front gate to the home front door using a computerised geographic information system and the Local Land and Property Gazetteer. The policy also confirms there is no feeder primary arrangement, so attending a particular primary does not increase priority.

For Nottingham City residents applying for September 2026 entry, the local authority’s coordinated timetable states a Year 7 application deadline of 31 October 2025, with offers issued on 1 March 2026. Families should use FindMySchoolMap Search to check their own distance and to sanity-check what “close” looks like in their specific street pattern, then confirm measurement rules against the admissions policy.

The school also runs an annual open evening, typically in September. For example, an open evening was scheduled for 24 September 2025, early evening, with multiple briefing times listed. Dates change annually, so families should check the school’s latest calendar information.

Pastoral care is a core strand in the latest Ofsted report, which highlights that pupils know they can talk to adults if worried, and that support and intervention have contributed to improved attendance. The report also describes effective help for behaviour, with the practical implication that pupils spend more time learning and less time out of lessons.

Wellbeing information is published with unusual clarity, including signposting for urgent help outside school hours and clear instructions for raising safeguarding concerns inside school. Students can speak to any staff member, approach safeguarding staff on duty at breaks, or use an online platform that allows anonymous reporting.

Anti-bullying messaging is direct and specific about reporting routes. The school points pupils towards staff, Heads of Year, Pastoral Support Officers, physical reporting boxes located in year zones, and the same anonymous online channel referenced in safeguarding guidance.

Extracurricular life is structured through “Ellis Electives”, with after-school sessions typically running from 3.00pm to 4.00pm and termly timetables updated regularly. This structure matters because it makes participation easier to plan for families balancing transport and caring responsibilities.

Clubs named in the latest Ofsted report include manga, debating, and board game clubs, and the report also notes that any Year 7 pupil can learn to play a musical instrument. Music provision is reinforced by the school’s published music development plan, which describes an annual full-scale musical plus a concert programme that includes performances for parents and local primary schools.

Academic support is also treated as part of enrichment rather than a separate, stigmatised track. The school publishes a Homework Help Guide that sets out access to computers in the library during breaks and after school, plus named homework clubs including Sparx Maths Homework Club and Sparx Reader Homework Club.

For students motivated by recognition and leadership, behaviour and rewards are tied to a house-style points economy called Guilford Gold, redeemable through a lunchtime Swap Shop located in the Guilford building. Rewards span practical items like stationery and sports goods, plus larger incentives such as trips.

The published school day runs Monday to Friday from 8.40am to 3.00pm. Arrival is staged, with time for breakfast early in the morning, and the school also publishes a staggered lunch schedule by year group alongside dedicated year group food pods for snacks and drinks at break.

Lunch is framed around a “family dining” approach, designed to give each year group time to sit with peers and staff, with simple table games available to support social connection.

After-school activities sit within the Ellis Electives framework, commonly between 3.00pm and 4.00pm, with parental consent and sign-up managed through the school’s platform. As with most secondary schools, wraparound care is not positioned as a core offer in the way it often is for primary schools, so families needing regular after-hours supervision should check the latest Electives timetable and any supervised study spaces.

• Academic outcomes remain a work in progress. Progress 8 is -0.43 and the FindMySchool GCSE ranking places the school below England average overall. Families should ask how current strategies are improving progress for middle and lower prior attainers, not only high achievers.

• A large school needs tight corridor culture. Ofsted notes that behaviour is generally positive, but also identifies moments of boisterous movement between lessons and a need to strengthen self-regulation when pupils move around independently. This may matter for students who find busy transitions stressful.

• Lesson talk and confidence building is a stated improvement focus. The latest inspection highlights that pupils do not always get enough chances to discuss learning in lessons, which can limit depth of understanding for some students. Families may want to ask how staff are building structured talk into classrooms.

• No sixth form on site. Year 11 students will move on elsewhere for post-16 study, so parents should consider travel and the level of support provided with applications and transition to college or sixth form.

Ellis Guilford School offers a clear, routine-led experience with well-developed pastoral systems and multiple routes for students to seek help. The latest Ofsted judgement of Good supports that picture, particularly around safeguarding culture, calm learning environments, and the breadth of wider opportunities on offer.

Best suited to families who want a structured, comprehensive 11 to 16 setting with visible expectations, a broad enrichment framework, and a strong emphasis on belonging. The key trade-off is that published progress and attainment measures indicate that improvement work is still central to the school’s journey, so families should probe how learning gains are being secured across the full ability range.