Setting

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

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Simon Firth Acting Principal Oasis Academy Lord’s Hill Romsey Road Southampton Hampshire SO16 8FA

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Serious weaknesses monitoring inspection of Oasis Academy Lord’s Hill

This letter sets out the findings from the monitoring inspection that took place on 1 April 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 was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to have serious weaknesses following the graded (section 5) inspection that took place in June 2024.

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Serious weaknesses monitoring inspection of Oasis Academy Lord’s Hill

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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Serious weaknesses monitoring inspection of Oasis Academy Lord’s Hill

During the inspection, I discussed with you and other senior leaders, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the trust, other staff, trustees and the local authority 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 carried out visits to lessons, had meetings with other staff and reviewed strategic documents and records. I have considered all this in coming to my judgement.

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Leaders have made progress to improve the school, but more work is

necessary for the school to no longer be judged as having serious weaknesses.

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designation

Since the last inspection, the senior leadership of the school has changed significantly. A new trust regional director has been appointed to oversee the support in place. New leaders have been appointed to the senior leadership team, including two vice principals and four assistant principals. This new structure has brought stability to the school through distributed leadership. These new leaders understand their areas of responsibility well. Strategic planning clearly defines who is responsible for what and by when. Initial work to address some of the serious weaknesses has had impact. However, leaders and trustees correctly identify that there is much work still to do to bring about the essential improvements needed.

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designation

The school has provided staff with professional development, helping them to establish calm classrooms where pupils are able to learn. In many lessons, teachers maintain clear routines. Pupils understand expectations and, for the most part, follow teachers’ instructions. Leaders acknowledge that some staff do not maintain high expectations. Support is in place for these staff; however, it has not led to consistency across the school.

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designation

The trust has supported subject leaders to review their curriculums to ensure that pupils are learning an ambitious curriculum. Subject leaders are starting to use assessment information to identify aspects of the curriculum that need further development.

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designation

Curriculum implementation remains inconsistent. Leaders have made clear what an ‘Oasis Academy Lord’s Hill Lesson’ should include. Staff receive training to help them check what pupils know and remember. In many lessons, teachers apply this training well. In some subjects, there is evidence of pupils improving their own work based on teachers’ feedback. However, leaders recognise that some teachers do not adapt their teaching in response to gaps in pupils’ learning. There is variability in how teachers structure learning to enable pupils to recap and practise important knowledge and skills effectively. Some teachers do not explain new vocabulary and concepts in a clear way. This means that pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), do not learn as well as they could.

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designation

As noted in the last inspection, the school provides useful support for pupils who need targeted help to read well. This enables these pupils to read with increased fluency and confidence. However, whole-school reading practice during tutor time is inconsistent, as many pupils do not have the appropriate resources needed to access the learning. To address this, the school is in the process of training tutors to relaunch a new tutor reading programme with the ambition to foster a love of reading. New, interesting books have been purchased so that every pupil will have access to the resources they need. However, plans to roll this programme out are still in their infancy.

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designation

Attendance remains significantly low for too many pupils. Changes in leadership following the last inspection mean that improvements in this area have been slow. A member of senior leadership has recently been appointed to oversee attendance. Working with the trust, they have established a team of knowledgeable staff. They are working with groups of pupils and their families to overcome barriers to regular attendance, paying particular attention to disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. The impact of this work is clear. Attendance is improving slowly. Improvements are most significant for pupils with vulnerabilities. Fewer pupils are now persistently absent. Leaders recognise the need to work in collaboration with external professionals and the local authority to support pupils where help has not been effective in the past.

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designation

The school has made a positive start to improving behaviour. Suspensions have been used frequently this academic year as clear expectations of behaviour have been reset. The use of suspensions is now decreasing as pupils understand what staff expect of them. Pupils enjoy celebrations of their achievements. Reward raffles such as the ‘Fab Four’ motivate pupils to succeed. There are still a significant minority of pupils who need additional help to manage their behaviour in a positive way. For many of these pupils, current strategies to support them do not meet their needs successfully. This means that some pupils have received multiple suspensions as support lacks efficacy. A small minority of pupils attend alternative provision. Pupils accessing the school’s own internal alternative provision feel settled, reducing the need for suspension. However, pupils attending external alternative provision pathways do not attend well enough. This means these pupils are not receiving

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designation

Leaders recognise the need to accelerate their approach to providing enhanced support for pupils who need it most. Staff have been recruited to provide therapeutic support, and leaders are engaging purposefully with professionals to redesign appropriate layers of support. This work is in its initial stages but is crucial to ensure these pupils receive the help they need.

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designation

Leadership and those responsible for governance have a secure understanding of the progress the school is making towards achieving its key priorities. Trustees ensure that the school engages with the support from the trust executive team effectively. Trustees use regular cycles of assurance visits to triangulate the impact of the school’s work.

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designation

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of trustees, and the CEO or equivalent of Oasis Community Learning trust, the Department for Education’s regional director and the director of children’s services for Southampton. This letter will be published on the Ofsted reports website.

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