Oak Tree Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school and they feel safe.

As one parent said, 'the teachers at the school care about the children and know them well'. Pupils speak positively about the opportunities they have to develop their talents and interests within and beyond the taught curriculum. They particularly enjoy raising money for charities of their choice and taking on leadership opportunities.

All pupils study a wide range of interesting and exciting topics. Leaders have thought carefully about what knowledge pupils have learned and what they need to learn next. Pupils confidently discuss what they are learning about and the books that they read.

Leaders have high expectations... for behaviour. Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and positive. However, not all pupils demonstrate positive attitudes towards their learning.

Too many lessons in key stage 2 are interrupted by low-level disruption.

Pupils feel that staff take bullying seriously and they are confident that adults are good at preventing it from reoccurring. Leaders are fully committed to providing a safe environment for all pupils.

Pupils demonstrate an age-appropriate understanding of tolerance and diversity. However, there are not yet consistent approaches to effectively support all pupils to meet leaders' high ambitions for inclusivity and respect.

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

Leaders have made effective improvements to the school curriculum.

There are high expectations for staff to teach ambitious content that builds on what pupils know and can do. Teachers' subject knowledge is secure and many use effective modelling and questioning to support pupils' understanding. This helps pupils to develop their knowledge of increasingly complex concepts, for example in mathematics.

Pupils enjoy a variety of lessons and can confidently discuss links between the subjects they learn about. For example, some pupils confidently described how their learning in personal, social and health education (PSHE) was revisited and built upon in both science and history lessons. Pupils also spoke enthusiastically about the school values and what they had been learning about democracy and tolerance during lessons.

Leaders have high expectations for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff use a range of effective strategies from the Reception classes upwards to support all pupils to grasp important knowledge. This includes regular revisiting of key content and additional targeted support for mathematics and reading.

Many pupils with SEND successfully access the curriculum and achieve well. The newly appointed special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) has further plans in place to ensure that the support given to all pupils is carefully matched to their needs.

Children in the early years foundation stage (EYFS) make a good start to their school life.

They are well supported by knowledgeable adults. Reading is prioritised and leaders have put into place a number of approaches to support pupils who struggle to read. Adults regularly check what pupils know and can do which means that those who require additional support receive it at the right time.

Across other areas of learning, children enjoy a range of activities that help them to learn the knowledge they need to succeed. This includes carefully selected vocabulary to develop their language and social interactions. Children in the Reception classes benefit from clear structures and routines in place that help them to become more confident and independent.

Despite successful improvements within the curriculum, leaders' expectations of positive behaviour have not been clearly communicated and understood across all areas of the school. Many pupils demonstrate positive and respectful interactions in class and during free time. However, the approaches to manage behaviour are inconsistent and are not yet always having the impact that leaders desire.

A small number of older pupils told inspectors that some pupils use derogatory language in the school. The curriculum proudly promotes inclusivity, and most pupils understand and show an appreciation of difference. However, leaders must take further action to ensure that all pupils understand the implications of the language they choose to use.

Staff value the continuing professional development opportunities they have. They also acknowledge where leaders have effectively considered well-being and workload. Leaders are keenly supported by the local governing body.

However, many governors are new to their roles. They do not yet have an accurate view of the strengths and areas for development of the school. They bring a wealth of experience to the school and are ready to support and challenge leaders through regular monitoring and review visits.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All staff are alert to any signs of concern, and they report these in a timely manner. Leaders responsible for safeguarding respond swiftly to secure the support that pupils at risk might need.

Leaders know their pupils well and use the services available to them accordingly to seek the guidance they might need.

Pupils know how to stay safe. They also know that they have trusted adults in school that they can speak to if they have any worries.

However, there are some minor weaknesses in the recording of actions after incidents of a safeguarding nature have occurred. Leaders recognise that they need to ensure that all actions are carefully and accurately recorded.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Low-level disruption in some classes interrupts teaching.

Leaders have not provided a clear definition of what behaviour is acceptable and not acceptable. This means that there are varying expectations of appropriate learning behaviours in class and inconsistent approaches to managing behaviour across the school. Leaders must clearly set out high expectations of positive behaviours for learning with fair and consistent approaches to manage behaviour.

• A large majority of the governing body are new to their roles. They do not yet have a detailed picture of the school's strengths and priorities for improvement. They must put into place appropriate structures to check what leaders tell them is correct.

• Some safeguarding and behaviour records are not sufficiently detailed. This means that it is not always clear what actions have been taken to address and monitor some incidents. Leaders should have rigorous checks in place to ensure that all incidents of a safeguarding nature, and resulting actions, are accurately recorded.

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