Oakfield Junior School

Inspection of a good school: Oakfield Junior School Bell Lane, Fetcham, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 9ND

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Outcome

Oakfield Junior School continues to be a good school. There is enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged outstanding if we were to carry out a section 5 inspection now. The school’s next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel extremely happy and safe in this very supportive school. They value their friendships and the strong relationships that staff have with them. Pupils said that staff are caring and kind. Leaders have created an ethos that reflects their aim to promote pupils’ development as responsible and respectful young people.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders want pupils to do their best and be highly successful. Pupils continuously live up to these expectations. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are exceptionally enthusiastic about their learning and about how they are taught. They work really hard and concentrate very well in all lessons.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Classrooms are very calm because behaviour is excellent. Pupils follow the school’s rules and routines without having to be reminded. Pupils have confidence in staff to help them sort things out if they fall out with their friends. They feel very safe in school. Bullying is dealt with decisively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders plan extensively to support pupils’ wider development. Pupils have opportunities to take part in a vast array of visits and activities, both in school and further afield, and are strongly encouraged to do so. The school often provides pupils with the chance to try something new, such as yoga.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have planned an exceptionally stimulating curriculum. The curriculum is highly ambitious for all pupils, including pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils. Subject leaders have very precisely identified the important knowledge that they want pupils to learn. They have planned pupils’ learning exceptionally well, so that pupils build their knowledge systematically. Consequently, pupils achieve highly. 8 and 9 February 2022

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Teachers develop pupils’ reading extremely effectively across the school, including for pupils who attend the resource base. This helps pupils in the early stages of reading to learn new sounds quickly. Pupils who have well-developed reading skills are challenged to think incredibly hard about what they have read. Teachers make sure that pupils read books that are correctly matched to their skill levels. Staff foster a love of reading. Story time is an important part of each day. Teachers check the progress of pupils’ reading carefully. Pupils who find it hard to keep up with the school’s reading programme benefit from excellent support. The reading curriculum ensures that pupils become highly proficient, fluent and confident readers.

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Teachers use resources well to help pupils in the main school and the resource base to understand new ideas and knowledge across different curriculum areas. This also enables pupils to remember what they have learned previously. Staff make sure that pupils fully understand what they are being taught before moving on. Staff use assessment effectively. They quickly spot any pupils who may be at risk of falling behind. This helps leaders and teachers to accurately identify these pupils and provide the next steps that pupils need to take in order to improve. Pupils get expert help from support staff to help them to catch up. Teachers plan activities that are correctly matched to pupils’ needs.

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Pupils with SEND are identified early and accurately. They access the whole curriculum and enrichment activities. Teachers and support staff adapt learning and the curriculum for these pupils carefully. Pupils benefit from appropriate support in lessons. Staff judge when to allow a pupil to work independently and develop resilience and when to intervene. Pupils with SEND achieve extremely well.

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Pupils’ conduct is exemplary. They follow the school’s expectations for behaviour, both in lessons and around the building, to the letter. Pupils are eager to behave in a way that fully reflects the school’s values, known as the ‘5Cs’.

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Leaders provide a wide range of extra activities and opportunities to help pupils to develop new interests and talents. For example, pupils develop their ability to lead as eco- warriors and information technology equipment monitors. They learn about democracy by voting for their school council.

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Leaders place a high priority on supporting staff. Staff appreciate leaders’ actions to help them manage their workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that there is a strong culture of safeguarding. Staff are vigilant in identifying the risks that pupils may face. Staff are well trained. They report and record everything that may indicate that a pupil is at risk of harm.

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Safeguarding

Leaders work closely with external agencies to keep vulnerable pupils safe. They pursue help for pupils who are most at risk tenaciously. Leaders work closely with families and partners to provide the right kind of support. 8 and 9 February 2022

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Governors and leaders are trained in safer recruitment. They complete appropriate checks on the suitability of adults who work in the school.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2017.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 8 and 9 February 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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Date of previous inspection

24 January 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has a resource base called The Centre. It is for pupils with SEND.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

This was the first routine inspection the school had received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders, and has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector met with the headteacher, the two assistant headteachers, the special educational needs coordinator and four governors, including the chair of governors. A telephone conversation was held with a representative from the local authority and a school improvement consultant.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 8 and 9 February 2022

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 The safeguarding records and documentation were scrutinised by the inspector, including the single central record.  A range of staff, teachers and teaching assistants spoke with the inspector to discuss safeguarding and staff workload.  The 50 responses to Parent View, including the free-text comments, were considered by the inspector. He also took account of 105 responses to the pupil survey and 41 responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Richard Blackmore, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 8 and 9 February 2022

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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