Oakhurst Community First School

Overview

Oakhurst Community First School provides an "expected standard" of education, offering pupils a "secure start to their schooling" within a "respectful and inclusive community." The report highlights a "well-designed curriculum" and "consistently positive" behaviour, noting that pupils are "well prepared for the next stage of their education."

Strengths

• The school’s "highly inclusive approach" ensures disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) "achieve well" and access the same opportunities as their peers.
• Leaders have improved attendance through a "strategic approach," with rates now "at least in line with the national average" and persistent absence "improving rapidly."
• Pupils demonstrate "high levels of respect" and "self-control," with bullying described as rare and resolved "quickly and effectively" by trusted adults.
• Staff use "effective strategies" such as revisiting previous learning to aid recall, helping pupils confidently apply knowledge in subjects like mathematics.
• Parents are "overwhelmingly positive," valuing the "precise support" leaders offer and the strong relationships within the school.

Areas to improve

• Staff in the early years must develop expertise to ensure interactions "consistently support the development of children’s communication and language skills," as some currently do not focus on specific language development well enough.
• Leaders should refine support plans to include "more precise actions or targets," ensuring the specific needs of pupils with SEND are met effectively.
• Variability exists in how some pupils "form their letters and numbers correctly," requiring continued focus on writing fluency.

Safeguarding

The safeguarding standards are met, with leaders establishing an "open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility" and concerns are "actively identified, acted upon and managed."