Oakfield Church of England Aided Primary School, Ryde

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a happy and supportive school. Pupils truly understand the school values of love, trust, honesty and hope. They treat all members of the school community with courtesy and respect.

In the early years, relationships between adults and children are warm and caring. Parents value the school's positive ethos and strong pastoral support. Pupils feel safe.

They trust adults to help them resolve any worries or concerns.

The school aspires for all pupils to receive a high-quality education. Children in the early years get off to a good start at school.

However, the school's ambition for all pupils to achieve well is not yet realised in full. Currentl...y, too many pupils do not achieve as well as they should. There is still work to do to ensure that all pupils learn well enough so that they are ready for the next stage of their education.

The school has a real focus on developing pupils' appreciation of the world around them. Pupils are encouraged to see themselves as global citizens through supporting international charities. They also make a positive contribution to their own community through running a food pantry and by helping to improve the appeal of a local landmark.

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

The school provides a broad and ambitious curriculum, which aims for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to learn the knowledge and skills they need to be successful. In some subjects, for example in science and in phonics, the precise knowledge that pupils need to learn is sequenced in a sensible order. Teachers know exactly what to teach and when they need to teach it.

In these subjects, pupils achieve well.

However, in some other subjects, the sequence of learning is not ordered so that pupils build their knowledge coherently. For example, in music, the content that pupils must learn is identified, but the order in which it is taught can be alternated.

This means pupils are not always secure in their music knowledge and can find it harder to explore and understand the new learning. Furthermore, in a few subjects, for example geography, the knowledge that pupils need to learn is not identified precisely enough. This means that teachers have limited guidance about what to teach, and pupils therefore do not build their knowledge as carefully as they could.

Teachers' subject knowledge is variable. Where it is strongest, teachers provide work that enables pupils to deepen their understanding. However, too often, the activities teachers design do not enable pupils to learn well.

Furthermore, teachers do not routinely check for gaps in pupils' understanding and address these before moving on to new content. Pupils then repeat errors and do not achieve as well as they should. For example, in English, many older pupils repeatedly make basic errors in punctuation and spelling, which prevents their written work from improving swiftly enough.

In addition, in many subjects, subject leadership is at an early stage of development. The school has not yet provided new subject leaders with sufficient time or training to lead their subjects effectively.

The school prioritises teaching pupils to read.

The use of a well-structured programme right from the start of early years ensures that children learn essential phonics knowledge quickly. Pupils in key stage 1 apply their phonics knowledge to read and write with confidence. Pupils build fluency as readers by reading books that are closely matched to the sounds they know.

Most pupils behave well in lessons. When pupils lose concentration, staff address this promptly, and pupils refocus quickly. The school environment is calm and orderly.

Pupils socialise well together. The school has worked hard with families to improve rates of attendance. This work has had a positive impact, particularly on reducing the number of disadvantaged pupils who regularly miss too much of their education.

The school is proud of its work to support pupils' personal development. In early years, adults model respectful conversations and teach children how to resolve conflicts and solve problems. Pupils have a clear understanding of the importance of tolerance and inclusion.

They develop confidence to perform in public through taking part in local events such as an annual carnival. In addition, pupils' learning is supported through trips to places like the beach and to a cathedral on the mainland.

The school wants the very best for all pupils.

Recent improvements in some aspects of the school's work have been successful. Identification of the needs of pupils with SEND has improved and, in some subjects, pupils with SEND are supported well to learn an age-appropriate curriculum. However, in some subjects, the school's expectations for what some pupils can achieve is still too low.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Expectations of what some pupils can achieve are not high enough. As a result, the curriculum is not consistently taught in a way that helps pupils to learn age-appropriate knowledge.

This includes learning sufficient knowledge to achieve age-related expectations in national tests. This means that some pupils do not learn enough of the curriculum to be ready for the next stage of their education. The school needs to ensure the highest expectations for achievement for all pupils, including those with SEND, so that all pupils have every opportunity to learn the curriculum content expected for their age.

• In some foundation subjects, the curriculum is not yet sequenced effectively and lacks precision about what should be taught and when. This means that pupils are at risk of developing gaps in their understanding and cannot integrate new knowledge into larger ideas. Leaders need to complete and embed a coherently sequenced curriculum from Nursery to Year 6 for all subjects.

• Staff's subject and pedagogical knowledge are not consistently strong in all subjects or aspects of learning. Tasks that teachers provide do not always enable pupils to learn effectively. Leaders need to strengthen teachers' knowledge to help pupils achieve as well as they should.

• Subject leadership in some foundation subjects is at an early stage of development. Subject leaders do not support staff to implement the curriculum effectively. Leaders and governors should ensure consistent and effective subject leadership across the whole curriculum.

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