Oakfield Church of England Aided Primary School, Ryde

Inspection of Oakfield Church of England Aided Primary School, Ryde Appley Road, Ryde, Isle of Wight PO33 1NE

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Inspection dates: 10 and 11 October 2023

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 10 and 11 October 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a happy and supportive school. Pupils truly understand the school values of love, trust, honesty and hope. They treat all members of the school community with courtesy and respect. In the early years, relationships between adults and children are warm and caring. Parents value the school’s positive ethos and strong pastoral support. Pupils feel safe. They trust adults to help them resolve any worries or concerns.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school aspires for all pupils to receive a high-quality education. Children in the early years get off to a good start at school. However, the school’s ambition for all pupils to achieve well is not yet realised in full. Currently, too many pupils do not achieve as well as they should. There is still work to do to ensure that all pupils learn well enough so that they are ready for the next stage of their education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has a real focus on developing pupils’ appreciation of the world around them. Pupils are encouraged to see themselves as global citizens through supporting international charities. They also make a positive contribution to their own community through running a food pantry and by helping to improve the appeal of a local landmark.

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better?

The school provides a broad and ambitious curriculum, which aims for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to learn the knowledge and skills they need to be successful. In some subjects, for example in science and in phonics, the precise knowledge that pupils need to learn is sequenced in a sensible order. Teachers know exactly what to teach and when they need to teach it. In these subjects, pupils achieve well.

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better?

However, in some other subjects, the sequence of learning is not ordered so that pupils build their knowledge coherently. For example, in music, the content that pupils must learn is identified, but the order in which it is taught can be alternated. This means pupils are not always secure in their music knowledge and can find it harder to explore and understand the new learning. Furthermore, in a few subjects, for example geography, the knowledge that pupils need to learn is not identified precisely enough. This means that teachers have limited guidance about what to teach, and pupils therefore do not build their knowledge as carefully as they could.

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better?

Teachers’ subject knowledge is variable. Where it is strongest, teachers provide work that enables pupils to deepen their understanding. However, too often, the activities teachers design do not enable pupils to learn well. Furthermore, teachers do not routinely check for gaps in pupils’ understanding and address these before moving on to new content. Pupils then repeat errors and do not achieve as well as they should. For example, in English, many older pupils repeatedly make basic errors in punctuation and spelling, which prevents their written work from improving swiftly enough. In addition, in many subjects, subject leadership is at an early stage of 10 and 11 October 2023

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development. The school has not yet provided new subject leaders with sufficient time or training to lead their subjects effectively.

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The school prioritises teaching pupils to read. The use of a well-structured programme right from the start of early years ensures that children learn essential phonics knowledge quickly. Pupils in key stage 1 apply their phonics knowledge to read and write with confidence. Pupils build fluency as readers by reading books that are closely matched to the sounds they know.

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Most pupils behave well in lessons. When pupils lose concentration, staff address this promptly, and pupils refocus quickly. The school environment is calm and orderly. Pupils socialise well together. The school has worked hard with families to improve rates of attendance. This work has had a positive impact, particularly on reducing the number of disadvantaged pupils who regularly miss too much of their education.

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The school is proud of its work to support pupils’ personal development. In early years, adults model respectful conversations and teach children how to resolve conflicts and solve problems. Pupils have a clear understanding of the importance of tolerance and inclusion. They develop confidence to perform in public through taking part in local events such as an annual carnival. In addition, pupils’ learning is supported through trips to places like the beach and to a cathedral on the mainland.

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The school wants the very best for all pupils. Recent improvements in some aspects of the school’s work have been successful. Identification of the needs of pupils with SEND has improved and, in some subjects, pupils with SEND are supported well to learn an age-appropriate curriculum. However, in some subjects, the school’s expectations for what some pupils can achieve is still too low.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Expectations of what some pupils can achieve are not high enough. As a result, the curriculum is not consistently taught in a way that helps pupils to learn age- appropriate knowledge. This includes learning sufficient knowledge to achieve age-related expectations in national tests. This means that some pupils do not learn enough of the curriculum to be ready for the next stage of their education. The school needs to ensure the highest expectations for achievement for all pupils, including those with SEND, so that all pupils have every opportunity to learn the curriculum content expected for their age.  In some foundation subjects, the curriculum is not yet sequenced effectively and lacks precision about what should be taught and when. This means that pupils 10 and 11 October 2023

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are at risk of developing gaps in their understanding and cannot integrate new knowledge into larger ideas. Leaders need to complete and embed a coherently sequenced curriculum from Nursery to Year 6 for all subjects.  Staff’s subject and pedagogical knowledge are not consistently strong in all subjects or aspects of learning. Tasks that teachers provide do not always enable pupils to learn effectively. Leaders need to strengthen teachers’ knowledge to help pupils achieve as well as they should.  Subject leadership in some foundation subjects is at an early stage of development. Subject leaders do not support staff to implement the curriculum effectively. Leaders and governors should ensure consistent and effective subject leadership across the whole curriculum.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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). 10 and 11 October 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 8 June 2021, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This school is a smaller-than-average primary school.  This is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school. The last section 48 Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools took place in June 2023.  The school has nursery provision for two-, three- and four-year-olds.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 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.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 10 and 11 October 2023

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 During the inspection, the inspectors met with the headteacher and senior leaders. The lead inspector also met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors, and a representative from the local authority. An inspector also spoke to a representative from the Diocese of Portsmouth.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science and music. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspectors also considered planning, documentation and pupils’ work from some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors 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

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culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The views of parents and carers were considered through their responses to Ofsted Parent View. Further views of pupils and staff were gathered through surveys, interviews and discussions conducted throughout the inspection.  Inspectors reviewed a range of the school’s documents, including self-evaluation reports, minutes of governing body meetings and behaviour incident logs.

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Inspection team

Sue Keeling, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Rachel Goplen Ofsted Inspector 10 and 11 October 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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