a school not in a category of concern of Oyster Park Primary Academy

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Jodie Chapman-Kemp Headteacher Oyster Park Primary Academy Watling Road Ferry Fryston Castleford West Yorkshire WF10 3SN

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Primary Academy

This letter sets out the findings from the monitoring inspection that took place on 8 January 2025, on behalf of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills. The monitoring inspection was carried out under section 8(2) of the Education Act 2005 and took place because the school meets the monitoring threshold as set out in the Monitoring Inspection Handbook .

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Primary Academy

The purpose of a monitoring inspection is not to grade the school’s key and (where applicable) provision judgements, but to identify and report on the school’s progress. It is to highlight to the school and parents any improvements that school leaders have made since the school’s previous graded inspection.

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Primary Academy

During the inspection, I discussed with you and other senior leaders and staff, the accounting officer from the trust, the chair of the academy committee and the chief executive officer (CEO) and the director of primary education from the new proposed partner trust the actions that have been taken to improve the school since the most recent graded inspection. We discussed the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. I also visited lessons, met with subject leaders, spoke to pupils and looked at work in books, paperwork for safeguarding and governors’ records. I have considered all this in coming to my judgement.

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Main findings

Since the previous graded inspection, staffing has remained stable at the school. A new chair of the academy council took up post in autumn 2024, and the accounting officer is acting as chief executive officer as this position is vacant. The school is actively working with a proposed new partner trust.

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Main findings

The school has made strong progress in improving the quality of education in reading and the wider curriculum. You and your team have focused on building consistency, strengthening teaching and supporting pupils’ learning. The impact of this work can be seen in raised outcomes, with most pupils passing the phonics screening check by the end of Year 2. Despite challenges caused by COVID-19, pupils show growing reading fluency and confidence in decoding. This is because leaders support staff in delivering the phonics programme effectively and ensure that interventions are tailored to meet the needs of individual learners, maximising their impact on progress. In the wider curriculum, you and your team have introduced and trained staff in strategies that are helping pupils retain knowledge and connect their learning.

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Main findings

These marked improvements show your commitment to taking decisive action. You are continuing to build on this progress by focusing on embedding consistency in all wider curriculum subjects.

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Main findings

Leaders, including governors, have made significant progress in strengthening curriculum oversight and safeguarding practices. Your trust has implemented clearer processes for documenting low-level safeguarding concerns, ensuring greater consistency and transparency. Proposed new trust leaders have provided essential support, particularly in enhancing systems for monitoring curriculum development and building governance capacity. The work with the proposed new trust partner has been an important factor in your progress.

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Main findings

Some new appointments to governance have strengthened scrutiny and accountability, enabling a more robust challenge to leadership. Your governors are actively reviewing key areas such as the performance of disadvantaged pupils. They are ensuring curriculum decisions are evidence-based. Your proposed new trust leaders have a clear programme in place to strengthen governance systems and processes that ensure accountability across all areas.

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Main findings

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of trustees and the accounting officer for Northern Ambition Academies Trust, the Department for Education’s regional director and the director of children’s services for Wakefield. This letter will be published on the Ofsted reports website.

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