Eastwood Grange School - Our Staff team

Our Staff Team

Introducing our Head Teacher

I have worked at Priory Education and Children’s Services for almost 10 years, working with children and young people with a range of needs. This includes social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and attachment disorders.

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the new Head Teacher at Eastwood Grange School in Ashover, Derbyshire.

I fully believe that children and young people learn best when we recognise the unique starting points at which they begin their journey with us and when we provide an individualised curriculum that further supports their needs. This approach enables the children and young people to build their resilience and equips them with the range of skills required to develop independent and fulfilled lives beyond education.

I initially started in the education and care sector by embarking on a PGCE in primary education, with teaching being something I had always wanted to do since leaving university. After graduating, I worked in mainstream education and then began working at a Priory Education and Children’s Services specialist school in Cumbria. I taught whole school art and tutored a number of classes. In 2014, I began working as a primary teacher at Eastwood Grange School. I was promoted to the position of Assistant Head Teacher in 2017, with responsibility for overseeing teaching and learning, behaviour and safeguarding and I was the school’s Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO).

In 2019, I was promoted to the role of Head Teacher at Eastwood Grange School. I believe that my previous industry skills, my unrelenting quest to ensure children are provided with the highest standard of education, and the knowledge and skills gained while working in this specific sector, puts me in the best position to take Eastwood Grange School forward.

We would be delighted to welcome you to our school. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to arrange a visit to see Eastwood Grange School for yourself.

Kind regards,

Stuart Lees
Head Teacher at Eastwood Grange School

“There is a broad and balanced curriculum which prepares pupils well for future independent living and for life in modern Britain.”

Eastwood Grange School Ofsted report

Our staff team

Eastwood Grange School’s warm and caring staff team have extensive experience of teaching and supporting children and young people with social, emotional and mental health difficulties. They provide intensive support to meet the complex needs of our students and create a positive, trusting and nurturing learning environment.

The school’s staff team work very closely together and share a passion for supporting every child to develop, progress and reach their potential. Ofsted describe our staff as ‘experts in developing positive relationships with pupils’. They model the behaviour they wish to see in our young people, which in turn leads to students demonstrating positive behaviours such as respect, cooperation and resilience.

Our specialist teaching and learning staff teams are responsible for academic, social and emotional learning and support. Their ongoing learning and continuing professional development ensures pupils benefit from consistently high standards of teaching in the classroom. Should a young person find it difficult to engage, our positive behaviour manager will work with teaching staff to address the pupil’s needs and build long-term strategies that prepare them to learn.

Our therapy team

The therapy team is led by a counselling psychologist, who oversees a speech and language therapist, occupational therapy and two counsellors. The team is responsible for supporting transitions into school, as well as behaviour and the social and emotional aspects of learning.

Our senior leadership team

Our senior leadership team has oversight and responsibility for ensuring that children and young people are kept safe and well, and that operationally and strategically the school is as effective as possible.

Seeking a rewarding career?

By joining our team at Aspris Children’s Services, you will have the opportunity to help change the lives of the children and young people that we support. To explore our current job vacancies, please click here.

Seeking a rewarding career?

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PDF downloads

Eastwood Grange School brochure.pdf 05.08.2021 (3.4 MB)

Aspris Health and Safety Policy Statement.pdf 26.06.2023 (0.1 MB)

Eastwood Grange School - Aims and Ethos 01.03.2024 (1.6 MB)