Oakdale Junior School

Inspection of Oakdale Junior School School Lane, Poole, Dorset BH15 3JR

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Inspection dates: 11 and 12 February 2025

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good

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Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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The headteacher of this school is Ali Sinclair. This school is part of Coastal Learning Partnership which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Paul Howieson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Martin Copsey. 11 and 12 February 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Oakdale Junior School is a welcoming place with a caring ethos. The school has high expectations of pupils. They rise to these. Pupils learn well in many subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school's newly created values of 'respect, aspiration, resilience and kindness' make clear how pupils should behave. The environment is calm and purposeful. Pupils are keen to learn. Staff take the time to forge nurturing relationships with pupils. As a result, pupils are confident that staff will support them with any worries.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a rich array of experiences beyond the curriculum. The school offers a wide range of clubs and activities to help pupils widen their interests. Pupils enhance their academic learning through trips such as to London, arts centres and to Lulworth Cove. School councillors value the difference they make to their school community. For example, they raise money through uniform sales and summer fairs to build a garden area and to fund extra play equipment. Pupils learn how to stay safe through thoughtfully planned sessions on water and road safety. Pupils know that believing in yourself supports positive well-being. As a result, pupils are prepared well for life beyond Oakdale.

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

Parents, pupils and staff are positive about the recent changes brought about by the school’s leaders. The trust and governors know the school well. The trust works proactively with the school to support any areas of need, for example regarding the curriculum. Staff feel valued.

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

Reading is at the heart of the school’s curriculum. Pupils who are not fluent readers on entry to the school are given swift support by expertly trained staff to catch up quickly. The books these pupils read are matched to their phonics ability. Staff quickly identify and address any misconceptions. Consequently, pupils become confident readers. Once they are beyond phonics, pupils benefit from a well-considered reading comprehension curriculum. Pupils are motivated to think about author choice and motive. As a result, pupils understand a range of challenging texts.

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

The school has worked with determination to swiftly review and create an aspirational curriculum that is progressively designed with the important knowledge pupils need to learn. In subjects such as art and mathematics, learning is revisited frequently. Learning checks inform future curriculum design. Staff tailor lessons to enable pupils to know and remember more over time. As a result, pupils can talk about how their knowledge of sketching has built over time to produce more detailed pieces. In some subjects, however, learning checks are not as well developed. These checks do not focus on the most important knowledge pupils need to learn or they are less regular. On occasion, the information the school gains about what pupils know is not used effectively to help develop the curriculum. Misconceptions in pupils’ learning do not get addressed quite so well. This means a few pupils have gaps in their knowledge.

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The school accurately identifies, and supports well, the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Teachers consider what extra support pupils might need to learn successfully alongside peers. This is also the case for pupils who arrive to the school with English as an additional language. However, some pupils who are eligible to receive pupil premium funding do not benefit as well. In a minority of cases, the school does not precisely identify their needs. This limits how well they learn the curriculum and so they do not achieve as well as their peers in some areas.

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The school’s personal development programme is a strength. Pupils enjoy ‘diversity day’ where they learn about the fundamental British values and various cultures. They appreciate visitors from different faiths as well as from humanists. Pupils show they respect the diversity of modern Britain.

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Oakdale is an orderly place to learn. Pupils have positive attitudes towards learning. The school works closely with families to remove barriers to attendance. As a result, pupils attend school regularly.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school has not precisely identified the barriers faced by some disadvantaged pupils. As a result, these pupils develop gaps in their learning. The trust must ensure that the school identifies disadvantaged pupils’ needs with accuracy to inform the teaching approaches used to improve their knowledge so they are well-prepared for their next stage.  The school does not check how well pupils have learned in some subjects. This means that assessment information is not being used as effectively as it could be to help strengthen the curriculum and to address gaps in pupils' knowledge. The school should further develop its use of assessment in these subjects so that it helps to deepen pupils' knowledge and understanding.

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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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You can search for published performance information about the school.

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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). 11 and 12 February 2025

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School details

Local authority Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole

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School details

Date of previous inspection 15 May 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The current headteacher took up post in January 2024.  The school joined Coastal Learning Partnership in March 2020.  There is a before- and after-school club for pupils who attend the school.  The school currently uses two unregistered alternative providers.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade. 11 and 12 February 2025

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation 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.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, school staff, parents, pupils, representatives from the trust including the CEO, the chair of the board of trustees and members of the local governing body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, art and geography. 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. Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  The lead inspector listened to a selection of pupils from Years 3, 4 and 5 read to a

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familiar adult.  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 culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school, including at lunchtime and breaktimes. In addition, the inspectors met with pupils formally and informally to hear their views.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses. They also looked at responses to Ofsted’s online staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Lakmini Harkus, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Claire Mirams Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 February 2025

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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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