Schools & FE · Report card

Oxclose Primary Academy

Inspected 15 Sept 2026 · published 2 Oct 2026 · URN 140684

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Summary

No overall grade in this frameworkSafeguarding met

Dan McKeating (lead), Catherine Lee, Nicola Murray

What we read, and from where

Click a reading to see it highlighted in the report.

Achievement verified
Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour verified
Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching verified
Expected standard
Early years verified
Strong standard
Inclusion verified
Strong standard
Leadership and governance verified
Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing verified
Expected standard
Framework verified
Report card
Inspection datesingle source
15 Sept 2026
Inspectors verified
Catherine Lee, Dan McKeating, Nicola Murray
Postcode verified
NE38 0LA
Name on report verified
Oxclose Primary Academy
Safeguarding verified
Met
URN verified
140684

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Deep dive

What this report says

In plain English

very positive

Oxclose Primary Academy is inclusive, with strong SEND support, safeguarding standards met and some areas for consistency.

The school meets its safeguarding standards and provides strong inclusion for pupils facing barriers to learning or wellbeing. Pupils with SEND learn well alongside peers, and most pupils achieve in line with expectations. Leaders have identified some areas to improve, including attendance for a small number of pupils and consistency in teaching and checking pupils' deeper understanding.

Going well

Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe.
Pupils facing barriers are identified quickly and supported well.
Pupils with SEND follow ambitious pathways and make clear progress.
Staff are well trained and the school has an inclusive, positive culture.

To improve

Attendance of a small number of pupils needs to improve.
Some pupils could attain more highly and their knowledge could be deeper.
Teaching needs a little more consistency so pupils move on in learning more quickly.
Understanding of British values and different faiths needs to be checked more robustly.

Summary written by AI (claude-haiku-5-5) from the report text. It can miss nuance: the report itself is the record.

Grade profile

Each judgement on its scale, weakest to strongest.

AchievementExpected
Attendance and behaviourExpected
Curriculum and teachingExpected
Early yearsStrong
InclusionStrong
Leadership and governanceExpected
Personal development and wellbeingExpected

Tone of the report

How positive or critical the inspectors' language is, from the words they chose. No AI involved.

+85Very positivemore positive than 78% of reports of this type

In line with other reports of this type.

Praiseambitiouspositiveeffectiveconsistentlyhigh expectationssecuresuccessfullyskilled

Criticismconcernsgapsabsence

How the report reads, start to finish

Every paragraph in order, sized by length. Tap one to see it on the page.

FindingsSafeguardingAbout the inspectionLeadershipWhat needs to improve positive critical

Findings1467w+87
Leadership272w+88
Safeguarding51w−11
What needs to improve51w+46

Strengths

Quoted from the report. Tap to see it on the page.

Concerns

Quoted from the report. Tap to see it on the page.

No strong criticism found.

Next steps

Quoted from the report. Tap to see it on the page.

What the report dwells on

Topics by how often they come up, coloured by how they are described. Open one for an example.

Anatomy of the report

How the report is built, against others of the same type and grade.

Pages: 16
Words of findings: 1,841; about usual (typical 1698)
Reading level: Hard; Flesch 42, typical 43
Average sentence: 15 words
Next steps: 2; typical 3
Hedged sentences: 7%; “some”, “not always”, “most”…

Where the words go

Findings 47%Leadership 9%Safeguarding 2%What needs to improve 2%About the inspection 40%

Full report text

Oxclose Primary Academy

Address: Brancepeth Road, Oxclose, Washington, Tyne and Wear, NE38 0LA Unique reference number (URN): 140684

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Early years Strong standard

Leaders ensure that children get off to a positive start to their education in the early years. They quickly establish positive relationships with parents and carers. They get to know the children well from the outset. This ensures that children's needs, especially those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are quickly identified. Leaders put precise support in place. Children's social and emotional development is supported effectively by caring and nurturing adults. Leaders' consistent approach ensures that children adjust to school routines and rules swiftly.

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Early years Strong standard

Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum. They prioritise securing the foundations children need for future learning. In the provision, activities are skilfully created to appeal to children's interests, promote their independence and encourage their curiosity. Consistently effective teaching successfully promotes children's engagement and helps them to sustain their concentration. There is a sharp focus on developing children's language. They develop ambitious vocabulary and confident communication skills through high-quality interactions with adults. Staff take every opportunity to deepen children's understanding and take timely steps to put additional support in place when they identify gaps in children's knowledge.

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Early years Strong standard

As a result, children achieve well, make sustained and consistent progress and are well prepared for Year 1.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders successfully ensure that the school meets the precise needs of the high proportion of pupils who face barriers to learning and/or wellbeing. The inclusive culture is distinct. Effective systems identify pupils facing barriers quickly. Leaders analyse pupils’ progress carefully, ensuring that timely support and adjustments are in place. Close partnerships with parents, carers and other professionals, including the local authority, help pupils overcome the barriers they face, including pupils who are known to children's services.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) follow ambitious curriculum pathways that meet their needs securely. Many pupils, including those in the additional resourced provision for pupils with SEND, learn alongside their peers and thrive. Skilled, well-trained staff make appropriate adaptations to support pupils with SEND. As a result, pupils learn consistently well. In the 'Skylight' provisions, ‘The Nest’ and ‘Discover Learning League’, staff provide carefully tailored support that enables pupils with SEND to make secure and consistent progress from their starting points.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders have developed a well-formed strategy to support disadvantaged pupils. They use additional funding appropriately. For example, their investment in staff training ensures that disadvantaged pupils develop secure knowledge in early reading. This is reflected in rapid and sustained improvements in the outcomes of disadvantaged pupils in the Year 1 phonics screening check.

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Achievement Expected standard

Pupils generally secure the basic foundations in reading, handwriting, mathematics and communication. For example, pupils use an appropriate pencil grip and younger pupils typically form letters accurately. Pupils typically secure phonics knowledge and apply it in their reading. This is reflected in the improved outcomes in the Year 1 phonics screening check and in the accuracy of pupils’ decoding. Pupils’ outcomes in the Year 4 multiplication tables check are consistently positive. The high proportion of disadvantaged pupils attain in line with the national average in key stage 2 national tests.

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Achievement Expected standard

Where there are gaps in pupils’ knowledge, pupils receive additional help in order to catch up. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities make clear and sustained progress from their starting points.

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Achievement Expected standard

Leaders recognise that a small number of pupils could attain more highly. They also recognise that some pupils’ knowledge, including in the personal, social and health education curriculum, is not as deep as it could be.

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Achievement Expected standard

Generally, pupils are well prepared for their next steps in learning.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Rates of attendance are close to the national average. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities attend well. Leaders track attendance with rigour and spot concerns quickly. They take appropriate steps to provide support and challenge to families when pupils do not attend. There are a small number of pupils who do not attend school often enough. These pupils are missing out on the high-quality education and experiences the school provides. Leaders have taken recent action to increase the levels of support for pupils who face barriers to attending regularly and recognise the need to embed this support.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders' consistent routines and high expectations ensure that pupils behave well. Pupils know the school rules, follow them and think they are fair. They appreciate the rewards they receive. Staff recognise pupils' efforts and affirm them in ways that are appropriate to pupils' communication needs. Fistbumps, pictures and kind words all contribute to the positive 'can- do' climate that adults promote in the school. This impacts positively on pupils' attitudes to learning. They typically work hard in lessons. Pupils play together cooperatively at social times. Unkindness is not tolerated. Bullying is rare and incidents are dealt with quickly.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Since the previous inspection, leaders have focused successfully on improving further the quality of the curriculum. It is ambitious, clearly designed and builds pupils' knowledge and skills over time. Leaders have designed pathways carefully to ensure pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) get the support they need. For example, in 'The Nest', some pupils with SEND benefit from specialist teaching and an individualised curriculum that meets their specific needs.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Across the school, teachers have secure subject knowledge and explain concepts clearly. They have close regard for pupils who face barriers to learning and put in place appropriate support to help them access the curriculum successfully. While teachers check pupils' understanding regularly and design activities that help pupils to secure and deepen their knowledge, leaders recognise the scope for a little further consistency. They recognise that, occasionally, some pupils are not cementing, or moving on in, their learning as quickly as they could.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders ensure there is a sharp focus on developing pupils' basic skills in reading, writing, mathematics and communication. Phonics is taught well. Leaders put in place timely and targeted support for those pupils who need it. For example, some pupils receive extra help with learning to read and some get further support to improve the accuracy of their handwriting.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Skilled and effective leaders have developed a highly inclusive culture. They have high expectations for all pupils and are positive role models for staff and pupils. Leaders are tenacious in the ways they support pupils to overcome the barriers they face. They are successful in ensuring children experience a consistent and positive start to their education in the early years. Parents and carers feel listened to when they contact the school and value the quality of communication from leaders. Parents also appreciate all that staff do to help their child, particularly when they face barriers to learning and/or their wellbeing.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have high ambitions for the school. They are focused on appropriate priorities and are taking timely action, such as increasing leadership capacity in order to improve some pupils' attendance.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

High-quality and regular training ensures that staff are skilled in supporting pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Effective training in communication, supporting pupils with autism and emotional regulation means that staff make swift and appropriate adaptations to help pupils manage their emotions and stay focused on learning. Staff enjoy working here. They work collaboratively as 'Team Oxclose' and value the support they get in relation to their workload. For example, leaders' digital strategy is supporting them to make efficient checks on pupils' learning.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Trustees and members of the local governing committee are knowledgeable and experienced. They provide leaders with robust challenge and support. They are aware of their duties, for example in relation to the Equality Act 2010, and fulfil them well. The trust has made considerable investment in resources for inclusion, including the Skylight Centre, that pupils benefit from greatly.

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