Oak Tree School

Inspection of Oak Tree School Truro Business Park, Threemilestone, Truro, Cornwall TR4 9NH

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Inspection dates: 16 to 18 September 2025

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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 Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many pupils arrive at this school having faced learning and attendance barriers in their previous educational settings. They can initially find it difficult to successfully engage in school life. However, staff at Oak Tree School share the vision that young people are ‘seen, supported, and inspired to thrive’. They get to know pupils as individuals. Staff form strong, trusting relationships with pupils. As a result, pupils feel a sense of belonging. They are happy and behave well. They feel safe and secure in school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is aspirational for pupils to achieve highly and go on to lead happy, independent lives. Some pupils realise these ambitions and successfully move on to their next steps in education or training. However, some pupils do not progress across the subjects as well as they should. This is because the school has not ensured that pupils benefit from consistently high-quality teaching across all areas of the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils participate in a wide range of activities outside of the classroom. These opportunities are tailored to pupils’ needs and interests. They include school camp, gardening, surfing and first-aid training. Pupils thoroughly enjoy these experiences. As a result, they grow in confidence, resilience and develop important social skills.

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better?

Since the previous inspection, the school has been through a difficult period. There have been many changes in staff, including at leadership level. As a result, staff and parents and carers, have felt unsettled. Recently appointed leaders have built trust in a short space of time. They demonstrate the capacity to make the necessary improvements at the school, including communicating effectively with all stakeholders. Most staff say they feel supported in managing their workload and enjoy working at the school.

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better?

All pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school identifies any additional barriers for pupils and puts appropriate support in place to meet their needs. At times, this support is not as precise, or reviewed as regularly, as it could be. Pupils follow a broad curriculum, which provides them with qualifications, where appropriate, and supports the development of their independent living skills. Some pupils also access alternative off-site provision. This has been carefully considered by leaders to ensure it is appropriate to meet pupils’ needs and interests.

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better?

Staff have appropriate subject expertise. However, in some areas of the curriculum, teaching is not as effective as it should be. Some teachers do not have the required knowledge and skills to teach effectively enough. Staff do not regularly check pupils’ understanding of what they have learned and remembered. Therefore, they do not build a precise enough understanding of what pupils already know and what they need to learn next. In these instances, pupils’ progress through the curriculum stalls. 16 to 18 September 2025 The school has recently introduced a phonics programme to support pupils at the early stages of learning to read. However, over time, reading has not been prioritised. Pupils’ progress through the reading curriculum is not carefully tracked. Therefore, some pupils have unaddressed gaps in their reading and wider literacy, which hinders their ability to read with confidence and fluency and to access the

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better?

The school is a calm and purposeful learning environment. There is a high staff presence and lots of well-considered break out spaces. Pupils have lots of opportunity for active outside play. They participate successfully in team games and show healthy, competitive traits.

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better?

Many pupils have a history of poor attendance. The school strives to remove any barrier to attendance and has recently strengthened its approach. Staff work collaboratively with pupils, families and other agencies to improve pupils’ attendance. Although in the early stages, pupil absence is starting to reduce.

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better?

Pupils’ personal development is a strength. Pupils participate in weekly votes on important issues in society. This helps them to develop an understanding of fundamental British values, such as democracy. Pupils learn to recognise the dangers of inappropriate use of mobile technology and social media and how this can affect self-image. They are developing the skills to debate issues in a mature way.

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better?

There is an effective careers programme in place. The school supports both pupils and parents to understand the range of potential future pathways. Last year, a significant number of pupils were able to progress into further education in mainstream settings. Most pupils are well prepared for their next stage of education, adulthood, employment or training.

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better?

The proprietor and school leaders ensure that the school consistently meets the independent school standards, including the requirements under schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 The school’s approaches to assessment are not consistently effective. Some staff do not identify and address pupils’ knowledge gaps and misconceptions. As a result, pupils do not progress as well as they should. The school should ensure that staff have the skills to identify what pupils do not know and use the 16 to 18 September 2025 information to tailor their teaching to ensure pupils make strong progression across the curriculum.  Some teachers do not have the required pedagogical expertise to teach effectively enough. As a result, some pupils do not learn as well as they should. The school should identify and provide staff with the knowledge and skills they need to routinely teach effective lessons.  The curriculum to support pupils at the early stages of learning to read is not fully embedded. Some pupils have gaps in their reading ability and wider literacy skills, which hinders their ability to access the broader curriculum successfully. The

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

school should ensure that its programme for teaching reading is implemented consistently across the school.  The school has gone through a period of staffing turbulence over recent times. As a result, engagement with key stakeholders, including some staff and parents, has suffered. Leaders should ensure that their continued work to improve the school is supported by effective communication with all key stakeholders.

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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. 16 to 18 September 2025

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School details

Unique reference number 140942 DfE registration number 908/6003

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School details

Inspection number 10374877 Type of school Other Independent Special School

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £55,000 to £98,987

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School details

Email address enquiries@oaktreeschoolcornwall.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 13 to 15 July 2022 16 to 18 September 2025

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Information about this school

 Oak Tree School is one of several independent schools operated by the proprietor, Acorn Care and Education Ltd, which is part of Outcomes First Group.  A new headteacher joined the school in March 2025.  Since the previous standard inspection, the school received a material change inspection on 31 January 2024. Following this inspection, the school increased its permitted age range to 5- to 18-year-olds and the registered number of pupils on roll to up to 135.  There are currently no children in the early years, key stage 1, or students in the sixth form on roll.  All pupils who attend the school have an education, health and care plan.  The school caters for pupils with a range of SEND. These include social, emotional and mental health needs, specific and moderate learning difficulties, speech, language and communication needs, and autism.  The school uses 13 unregistered alternative provisions.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors carried out this inspection under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008. The purpose of the inspection is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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Information about this inspection

The school meets the independent school standards. These are the requirements set out in the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation of the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, other senior leaders and some heads of faculty to discuss aspects of the school. The lead inspector met with the managing director of Acorn Care and Education Ltd, a governor from the local governing board, members of the Outcomes First Group’s human resources team, and the local authority designated officer for Cornwall.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, personal, social and health education, and history. Inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single

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Information about this inspection

central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and 16 to 18 September 2025 considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors checked compliance with the independent school standards.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View and the views of staff and pupils in Ofsted’s online surveys. Inspectors spoke to pupils and staff in meetings and around the school site.  Inspectors toured the school site to check the suitability of the premises.  In the last academic year, there has been six formal complaints made to the school.  An inspector contacted some of the alternative providers used by the school.

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Inspection team

Kelly Olive, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Gavin Summerfield His Majesty’s Inspector 16 to 18 September 2025 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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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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