Oak Hill Academy West London

Inspection of a good school: Oak Hill Academy Ashford Road, Feltham, Middlesex TW13 4QP

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Outcome

Oak Hill Academy 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 graded (section 5) inspection now. The school’s next inspection will be a graded inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy, safe and take ownership of their learning in this aspirational school. For example, pupil ‘members of parliament’ often lead peers in warm-up activities in physical education (PE) lessons. Every pupil, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), understands the purpose of each lesson and what they need to do to succeed and achieve exceptionally well. They place great value on the knowledge they gain and understand how it will help them in the next stages of their education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

All staff have high expectations of every pupil. Pupils behave exceptionally well, even when no adults are watching. They know, appreciate and adhere to the rules. All pupils are treated with consistency and fairness.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are encouraged to recognise and use their expertise to help others. For instance, in the crochet club, experienced pupils support newer club members when creating slip knots and chains. Pupils with SEND mentor younger peers with similar needs. Leadership and responsibility are woven seamlessly through every aspect of pupils’ journeys through the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents are complimentary about the way leaders and staff support their children to be confident, resilient and ready for life’s challenges. One parent commented, which was typical of many, ‘The school has transformed my child’.

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

Leaders have put in place an engaging, well-designed and sequenced curriculum that is ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND. They confidently adapt and flex more rigid schemes of work to best meet pupils’ needs. For example, in mathematics, leaders 29 and 30 March 2023

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identified that pupils needed more opportunities to develop greater resilience, confidence and efficiency when selecting and using calculations. Teachers build in time to specifically practise these skills every lesson.

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Teachers have excellent knowledge of the subjects they teach. They are well supported by subject leaders and collaborative planning in year group teams. All staff benefit from the wealth of expertise within the wider trust to support their professional development.

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All staff use a consistent approach to help pupils learn. They model learning and ensure pupils have ample time to discuss with their peers before applying new knowledge independently. Teachers plan for and address potential misconceptions or anticipate pitfalls that pupils may encounter. For example, in mathematics, when plotting coordinates, pupils are reminded that the placement and size of the ‘x’ are crucial for reading the point with accuracy. Pupils are explicitly taught the importance of following correct procedures and why this supports learning. For example, in PE, pupils perform sit ups correctly, with their arms across their chest. They understand why they need to do this, to correctly isolate the abdominal muscles they need to strengthen in that movement. Pupils with SEND are supported effectively to access the same learning as their peers. This is achieved through the support of an additional adult to help maintain

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focus, or through scaffolded activities and pictorial representations to support their understanding.

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Reading is prioritised. Leaders train staff well in the chosen phonics programme. These staff regularly check pupils’ fluency and pinpoint exactly where barriers lie. Everyone understands where pupils may have gaps in their phonic knowledge and which strategies and resources to deploy to help pupils catch up. Pupils read books that are accurately matched to the sounds they have learned.

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Pupils have excellent attitudes towards their learning and are fully engaged in every subject. Low-level disruption is extremely rare; when it occurs, it is dealt with swiftly and not allowed to adversely affect learning. Pupils value the structure of rewards and responsibilities. They have many opportunities to take a lead in their school. Pupil ambassadors support behaviour at breaktimes, reinforcing adults’ high expectations and helping their peers to stay safe.

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Leaders make sure that there is a wide range of clubs and opportunities, both after school and during lunchtimes. These include sporting activities, debating, gardening and computing, among others. Pupils are encouraged to communicate confidently and work collaboratively. They organised their own talent show, including the audition process. Environment ambassadors promote sustainability across the school by, for example, encouraging their peers to create red noses out of recyclable material during a national fundraising event.

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All staff comment that leaders are mindful of their workload and well-being. They gave examples of how changes to policy, such as the policy for marking, supports a healthy work-life balance. Staff comment that they are able to approach leaders with any concerns, who then listen and provide support, as necessary. 29 and 30 March 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

All staff receive up-to-date training to keep pupils safe. They understand their responsibilities, including how to spot signs that a pupil may be at risk of harm. Leaders make sure that all staff know how to report concerns.

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Safeguarding

Pupils learn how to stay safe, both on and offline. They know not to share personal information when using the internet. They trust adults in school and would tell them if they had any worries.

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Safeguarding

Leaders liaise with external agencies to make sure pupils get the most appropriate help. Those responsible for governance perform their statutory duties effectively. They check that safer recruitment systems are robust.

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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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually, this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first ungraded 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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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school. 29 and 30 March 2023

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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. 29 and 30 March 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10211211 Type of school Junior

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School details

Principal Elizabeth Linney (executive principal) Laura Taylor (associate principal) Website www.oakhill-aspirations.org

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School details

Date of previous inspection 17 and 18 January 2017, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Oak Hill Academy is a larger-than-average junior school and part of Aspirations Academy Trust.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the executive principal, associate principal, and other members of the senior leadership team. The inspector also met with the regional chief executive officer, the chair of trustees and the national director of education and standards.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and PE. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with pupils about their learning and looked at samples of their work. 29 and 30 March 2023

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 The inspector also considered the curriculum in other subjects.  To evaluate safeguarding, the inspector viewed the single central record of pre- employment checks and met with the designated safeguarding leader. She discussed documentation relating to safeguarding, including records of concerns.  The inspector considered the views of pupils, parents and staff through discussions and/or their responses to Ofsted’s online surveys.

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Inspection team

Alison Colenso, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 29 and 30 March 2023

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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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