Oakdale Infants' School

Overview

Oakdale Infants’ School continues to be a good school, described as a "caring and nurturing" environment where pupils feel safe and demonstrate high levels of respect. The report highlights a "typically ambitious curriculum" and effective safeguarding arrangements, noting that staff expect every child to succeed from the Nursery onwards.

Strengths

• Pupils are "fluent and accurate readers who enjoy reading," supported by well-trained staff and a thorough phonics programme.
• The curriculum is "logically sequenced," ensuring pupils embed key ideas before tackling complex concepts, particularly in subjects like computing.
• Children in early years are "highly motivated" and demonstrate "strong levels of engagement" across all areas of learning.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are "accurately identified" and supported through appropriate adaptations and nurture groups.
• Leaders promote personal development well, enriching the curriculum through visits to museums and local places of interest.

Areas to improve

• The curriculum in Year 1 "does not consistently build from the areas of learning in the early years," which limits some children’s readiness for key stage 1.

Safeguarding

The report states that "the arrangements for safeguarding are effective."