St Oswald’s CofE Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils enjoy school and are happy to attend. They make a positive start to the school day, quickly making their way to classrooms and settling down to work. Pupils are mostly kind to one another and look after each other.

However, sometimes the negative behaviour of a small minority of pupils disrupts the learning of others.

Pupils say they feel safe in school. They take part in lessons and workshops that promote their well-being.

They learn how to maintain positive friendships. In the past, some pupils have seen bullying as an issue. Leaders know this and have worked hard to put things right.

When bullying happens staff take it seriously. Most ...pupils have confidence that adults will sort their problems out.

Pupils study a broad range of subjects and are interested in the topics they learn.

However, leaders have not ensured that the curriculum is well planned in some subjects. This limits pupils from reaching their full potential.

Pupils enjoy a range of opportunities that promote their independence and leadership skills.

Pupils elect school councillors, who represent them in making decisions about the school. Older pupils 'buddy up' with younger ones. They are proud to have such important roles in school.

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

Those responsible for governance have taken recent action to strengthen school leadership. The newly appointed executive headteacher and head of school have a clear vision. They intend for pupils to 'imagine, achieve and believe'.

However, further improvement work is required to ensure that this vision is realised.

Leaders have worked with consultants to develop the quality of the curriculum. They have introduced commercial schemes of work in subjects such as mathematics and science.

Curriculum leaders are designing the school's own approach in other subjects, for instance geography and history. This work is still in the early stages. As a result, the knowledge that leaders expect pupils to learn is not yet clear in all subjects.

Teachers make regular checks on what pupils know. They use quizzes at the start of lessons to find out how well pupils remember key information. Staff use this information to identify pupils who need extra help and put appropriate support in place.

Teachers also make adaptions to ensure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) can fully participate in all lessons. Despite this, there is variation in staff's knowledge of how to teach some subjects. Sometimes the tasks that teachers plan are not well matched to learning objectives.

This means pupils do not learn as well as leaders expect.

Leaders introduced a new approach to teaching phonics in September 2021. They have ensured that staff understand how to teach the subject well.

Although some pupils do not yet read with the fluency that leaders expect, the new approach is starting to make a positive difference. Pupils are becoming better readers over time.

Leaders have designed an ambitious early years curriculum that promotes children's speech and language development.

Children take part in lessons and activities that engage and excite them. Adults ensure that these activities are purposeful. Tasks have clear links to learning outcomes.

Staff make the most of each opportunity to talk and interact with children. This helps children make a successful start to their life at the school.

Staff have not been consistent in managing pupils' behaviour in the past.

This has resulted in some pupils displaying poor attitudes to learning and disrupting the learning of others. Leaders have begun to take the necessary steps to raise expectations. For example, they have revised the school's behaviour policy and are working with staff to ensure that the policy is consistently applied.

Leaders have also introduced a range of lunchtime clubs. Adults supervise these clubs well. Leaders' actions are starting to make a difference but there is still much work to do.

Some pupils do not yet display the positive attitudes that leaders expect.

Leaders ensure that the curriculum promotes pupils' understanding of values such as respect and tolerance. Pupils learn about celebrating diversity.

They learn about different cultures and faiths. As one pupil said, 'We are a Christian school, and everyone is welcome here.'

Staff enjoy working at the school.

Most feel that leaders are considerate of their well-being. Staff want to work with leaders to improve the school.

Leaders' engagement with parents has not been sufficiently effective in the past.

Some parents do not feel their concerns have been listened to carefully enough. The current school leadership team intends to work more closely with parents but has not yet fully implemented their plans.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure that safeguarding is a priority. Staff know what to do if they have concerns about pupils. They report such concerns straight away.

Leaders take the necessary action to support pupils who need help. This includes working with families and external agencies when needed.

Pupils learn about keeping themselves safe.

The curriculum includes lessons that teach pupils strategies to keep safe when working on the internet. In addition, leaders arrange lessons to address pupils' specific questions or concerns. For example, pupils in Year 6 have taken part in police workshops to raise their awareness of knife crime.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The knowledge that leaders expect pupils to learn in some subjects is not yet clearly identified. Pupils do not build up their knowledge and skills as well as they might. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is well planned and sequenced in all subjects.

• There is variation in staff's subject knowledge. Some teachers do not always choose activities that help pupils to learn well. Leaders should continue to develop staff understanding of how to teach the curriculum well.

• There has been an inconsistent approach to the way that behaviour has been managed. This has led to some pupils displaying behaviours that distract others from their learning. Leaders should continue their work to ensure that the school's behaviour policy is applied fairly and consistently.

• Leaders' engagement with parents has not been sufficiently effective. Some parents feel they do not receive enough information about how their concerns are managed. Leaders should continue their work to improve communication and engagement with stakeholders.

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