Oakhill Primary Academy

Overview

Oakhill Primary Academy is described as a “welcoming, inclusive school” where pupils are “proud to be part of the school” and there is an “air of positivity and motivation to succeed.” The inspection confirms that the school has “taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection,” continuing its trajectory of high-quality education and care.

Strengths

• The curriculum is “well-organised” and “well-designed,” with staff using knowledge of pupils’ interests to “engage pupils with learning.”
• Behaviour for learning is “exemplary,” supported by “well embedded behaviour approaches” and a culture of “respect and caring for others.”
• Reading is given “high priority,” with a phonics programme that is “well understood by staff” and “delivered consistently well.”
• The school is “very inclusive,” effectively using expertise from its specially resourced provision to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• Pupils benefit from a “wide range of experiences,” including sporting clubs and activities like the ‘Oakhill 100 things to do before you leave school,’ which help them develop into “confident and resilient individuals.”

Areas to improve

• Teachers should ensure learning is “closely targeted to pupils’ needs” by sufficiently considering pupils’ starting points, as some currently receive tasks they already know, which “slows some pupils’ learning.”
• The school is addressing the issue where teachers do not always use assessment information to “move pupils’ learning on when pupils are ready.”
• Learning regarding some British values is “not as securely remembered,” and the curriculum is being refined to support pupils in remembering this more effectively.
• Improving pupils’ attendance remains a priority for the school.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.”