Oakham Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 26 November 2024

Everyone is made to feel welcome at Oakham Primary School. The school's motto of 'succeeding together' is evident to see throughout. Staff build strong relationships with pupils and actively celebrate their achievements and successes. Pupils behave exceptionally well. In lessons, pupils show a keen desire to learn and complete tasks willingly. At social times, pupils play together happily and are keen to share their enjoyment of school with visitors. Pupils feel safe in school and know who to speak to if something is worrying them. Pupils benefit from a rich array of different experiences at school. Many older pupils take on leadership roles such as play and sports leaders, lunchtime helpers and well-being champions. Pupils also enjoy the range of residential trips they can attend such as an outdoor learning centre in Year 2 and Snowdonia in Year 6. Pupils are active citizens in their local community. They enjoy raising money for a guide dog charity and singing and performing at a local care home. Parents and carers are overwhelming positive about the school. One parent represented many when saying, 'The teachers and staff go above and beyond for every pupil. Oakham Primary School is just fantastic. A pleasure to have my child attend there.'

What the school should improve

• In some mathematics lessons, pupils do not get sufficient opportunities to develop their reasoning and problem-solving skills. This means that some pupils are not as secure as they should be in their mathematical knowledge to tackle more complex ideas and concepts. The school should ensure that all pupils are given appropriate opportunities to develop their reasoning and problem-solving skills to strengthen their mathematical understanding further.
• The school is still in the process of developing its assessment procedures in the foundation curriculum. This means that assessment information is not being used as effectively as it could be to help strengthen the curriculum and address gaps in pupils' knowledge. The school should further develop their use of assessment in the foundation curriculum so that it helps deepen pupils' knowledge and understanding in these subjects.
• In some foundation subjects, teachers' subject pedagogical knowledge is less well developed. This means that teachers are not fully aware of how best to teach content of different subjects in the most effective way. The school should support all staff to enhance the teaching of the foundation curriculum.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)