Oak CofE Primary School

Inspection of Oak CofE Primary School Dryclough Road, Crosland Moor, Huddersfield HD4 5HX

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Inadequate 8 and 9 July 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend Oak Church of England Primary School. They enjoy their lessons, work hard, and take pride in their learning. Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and caring. Staff know the pupils and their families well. They take good care of pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are encouraged to have a voice. They contribute their ideas and views through the school council. Pupils try to make a difference by raising money for different charities. Pupils proudly take on a range of responsibilities, such as reading buddies who are trained to read with younger pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is determined that pupils will achieve well. A high proportion of pupils join and leave the school during the school year. The school works in this context to ensure that pupils swiftly gain the knowledge and skills needed to learn successfully. Since the last inspection, the school has brought about significant improvements to the curriculum and how well staff teach it.

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What is it like to attend this school?

In the early years, children begin to learn to care for one another. Pupils across school are polite and respectful to staff and each other. Pupils are happy and safe because trusted staff listen and support them.

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

The school ensures that pupils learn to read well. Staff are highly skilled and teach phonics with confidence and enthusiasm. Pupils who need additional support receive it regularly and keep up with their peers. Older pupils enjoy the rich range of texts shared in lessons. Occasionally, in lessons across the wider curriculum, the resources that teachers choose can prove too challenging for pupils to read. When this happens, some pupils struggle to access the learning that teachers intend.

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

The school’s broad and ambitious curriculum is carefully sequenced from the early years to Year 6. The school has identified the important knowledge that pupils should learn and remember. Pupils regularly revisit this knowledge. This supports pupils to progress well through the curriculum. In most subjects, pupils remember what they have learned. The school identifies and addresses gaps in learning from previous years successfully. The improvements made to the curriculum are not reflected in key stage 2 published outcomes from national assessments. This is because previous cohorts of pupils have not had time to benefit from the improvements the school has made.

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

Typically, teachers explain new learning clearly, and well-considered activities help pupils to secure their knowledge. However, on some occasions, the school has not ensured that teachers have the expertise to change the sequence of learning successfully when needed. This results in important steps being missed or pupils spending too long going over the things they already know when they are ready to move on. 8 and 9 July 2025

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The school has effective systems in place to accurately identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff provide impactful adaptations in class. This enables pupils with SEND to access what they need to learn. Those with high-level, complex needs receive bespoke, in-school support. Pupils with SEND are fully included in all aspects of school life.

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In the early years, children have many opportunities to explore and learn both indoors and outside. Staff are calm and nurturing. They listen carefully to children and help them to explore and express their feelings and emotions. Staff focus on developing language skills through stories, songs, and rhymes. Children quickly learn the routines and expectations that prepare them for the challenges of Year 1.

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Disruption to learning is rare. Staff deal with any behaviour incidents swiftly and effectively. The school has introduced strategies to improve behaviour at social times. For example, creative and adventurous outdoor play is now organised at breaktimes. This is having a positive impact.

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The school monitors and analyses pupils’ attendance diligently. Staff work closely with families to address barriers to attendance. As a result, attendance has improved since the previous inspection. However, the school’s strategies to improve attendance for pupils with SEND are not having the impact that it wants. As a result, persistent absence remains high, and this group of pupils miss out on important learning.

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The curriculum for personal, social and health education teaches pupils how to keep themselves safe and healthy. Pupils learn how to look after their physical and mental health. Pupils benefit further from a range of enrichment opportunities. These include a number of clubs that develop pupils’ sporting, musical and wider talents. This is an inclusive school. Pupils are proud of the cultural and ethnic diversity and different faiths represented at school.

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The interim executive board is providing the necessary leadership experience to support the school to improve. The school has appointed a governing body that will carry on this work. Leaders are mindful of staff workload and staff feel supported by the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some lessons, alterations to curriculum content do not always match some pupils’ learning needs. This means that on occasions important steps in learning are missed out, resulting in gaps in pupils’ knowledge. In other lessons, pupils’ learning is not moved on and pupils repeatedly complete tasks that they can already do. The school 8 and 9 July 2025

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should ensure that when staff make changes to the sequence of learning, these changes meet the needs of pupils consistently.  In some subjects, the resources that teachers choose can prove too challenging for some pupils to read. When this happens, these pupils struggle to access the learning that teachers intend. The school should ensure that resources are suitably adapted for those who are still at the early stages of learning to read.  The school’s extensive strategies to improve attendance for pupils with SEND are not having the impact it intends. As a result, persistent absence remains high, and pupils miss out on important learning. The school must refocus its approaches to attendance to reduce persistent absence further for these pupils.

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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). 8 and 9 July 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority Interim executive board

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School details

Date of previous inspection 3 December 2024, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has provision for two-year-olds.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  This is a Church of England primary school in the Diocese of Leeds. The school received a section 48 inspection in December 2021. The school’s next section 48 inspection will take place within eight school years.  The school runs a breakfast club for pupils.

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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. 8 and 9 July 2025

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In accordance with section 13(4) of the Education Act 2005, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires special measures.

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the headteacher, other senior leaders, school staff, members of the interim executive board and representatives of the local authority and the Diocese of Leeds.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, history, and design technology. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, 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.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff, and pupils; and considered the

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extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspectors considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments.  The inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and pupils and spoke to some staff about their workload and well-being.

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Inspection team

Tracy Duffy, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Chris Pearce His Majesty’s Inspector 8 and 9 July 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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