Oakdale Infants' School

Inspection of a good school: Oakdale Infants’ School Woodville Road, South Woodford, London E18 1JU

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Inspection dates: 20 and 21 September 2023

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Outcome

Oakdale Infants’ School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Oakdale is a caring and nurturing school where pupils feel safe and are kept safe. Pupils show high levels of respect to others. They are considerate and listen to their friends. Behaviour is good. Pupils say people are kind and that bullying is not tolerated.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s ethos of respect, responsibility, resilience, resourcefulness and the ability to reflect is evident each day. Pupils strive to be a ‘Charter Hero’, when they are recognised as demonstrating these values.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff expect every child to succeed from the Nursery onwards. Children in early years get off to a good start and settle well into school routines. Leaders make sure parents and carers are involved in the life of the school. Parents value this. Pupils learn a typically ambitious curriculum and produce work of good quality in different subjects. Pupils enjoy visits that enhance the curriculum, such as to the Tower of London and the National Maritime Museum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn about the importance of healthy living and participate in events such as Walk to School Week and ‘stay and play’ sessions.

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

The curriculum is typically ambitious and aligns with what is expected nationally. Careful thought has been given to what pupils should learn and when. Important ideas are logically sequenced so that pupils practise and embed what they need to remember before tackling more complex ideas. For example, in computing, pupils learn to create images and sound files before combining them in animations.

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

In early years, children are highly motivated and demonstrate strong levels of engagement across all areas of learning. All staff engage positively with children and are committed to supporting their learning and development. Although the curriculum in Year 20 and 21 September 2023

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1 is ambitious, it does not consistently build towards what children need to know and remember from the early years

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Leaders have prioritised pupils’ early reading. Staff have been well trained to deliver the new phonics programme with precision. Pupils are given sufficient time to practise reading using books that are well matched to the sounds they have learned. The school is thorough in checking pupils’ reading. This ensures that any pupils who may need additional support are swiftly identified. Pupils develop as fluent and accurate readers who enjoy reading. Each year group has its own library that includes a wide variety of stories, non-fiction and authors to choose from. Pupils talk about reading with enthusiasm.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are accurately identified. Appropriate adaptions are made so that pupils access the same curriculum as their peers where this is possible. Nurture groups and interventions are well implemented. This enables pupils to take part in every aspect of school life.

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Behaviour in lessons is positive. Staff and pupils treat each other with respect. This means that learning proceeds uninterrupted and contributes to the school’s ethos of ‘learning and opportunity’. Leaders have effective systems in place to ensure that pupils attend school regularly and on time.

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Leaders promote pupils’ personal development well. The curriculum is enriched through, for example, inviting a variety of visitors into school. Pupils visit places of interest, such as the local mosque and museums. Pupils learn how to keep physically and mentally healthy. Pupils hear stories about inspirational people and are encouraged to reflect on what this means for them. The strong links with the junior school provide further learning experiences. Pupils attend a wide range of additional activities that extend their interests, such as forest school and gardening.

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The governing body understands the strengths of the school and the areas prioritised for further development. Staff appreciate the efforts made by senior leaders to manage their workload and support well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum in Year 1 does not consistently build from the areas of learning in the early years on what pupils already know and remember. This limits some children’s readiness for key stage 1. The school should ensure that the curriculum in Year 1 builds cumulatively in each area of learning in the early years. This will also support subject leaders to better understand and check the impact of the curriculum on pupils’ learning across the school. 20 and 21 September 2023

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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 was the second ungraded inspection since the school was judged to be good in December 2013.

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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.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding ( this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 20 and 21 September 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Headteacher Danvir Visvanathan (executive headteacher) Louise Ditchburn (head of school) Website www.oakdaleinfants.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 5 June 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The executive headteacher and head of school have been appointed to their roles since the previous inspection.  The school is part of a hard federation with Oakdale Junior School. The two schools share one governing body.  The school is also in a soft federation with another local primary school. The executive headteacher is responsible for all three schools.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspector carried out this ungraded inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision. 20 and 21 September 2023

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector held meetings with the executive headteacher, the head of school and other senior and subject leaders. Discussions were also held with representatives of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in reading, computing and science. To do this, they met with subject leaders to discuss the curriculum, visited lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with pupils and looked at samples of their work.  The curriculum in other subjects was considered as part of the inspection.  The inspectors scrutinised a range of documents, including leaders’ priorities for improvement.  The views of staff, pupils, parents and carers were gathered through both discussions and responses to Ofsted’s online surveys. There were no responses from pupils to the online survey.

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Inspection team

Sarah Lack, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 20 and 21 September 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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