Oasis School 21

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 29 April 2025

Pupils enjoy attending School 21. Through its broad, balanced and innovative curriculum, the school seeks to 'empower young people to make a difference'. This starts in the early years, where children learn key knowledge and skills for Year 1. It continues through to the secondary phase, where students typically achieve well and are prepared effectively for the next stage. The school supports pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) effectively so they achieve in line with their peers. Typically, pupils work hard and behave well. The values of humanity, community, excellence, openness and responsibility are demonstrated regularly across all phases. In particular, many pupils talk positively about the spirit of community in the school. They appreciate the support that they receive from staff if they have a concern. Pupils are happy and safe here. The school provides pupils with opportunities to develop their talents and interests, particularly in the performing arts. For example, all pupils up to Year 9 take part in the annual 'festival of light' music concert. Every pupil in Years 5 to 9 engages in the band project and has the opportunity to learn to play an instrument. The school also holds an annual oracy exhibition to promote 'learning to talk and learning through talk'.

What the school should improve

• There is some variability across the school in the way the ambitious curriculum is implemented. The school's preferred approach to teaching is not utilised consistently well across all phases and subjects. This limits the embedding of key knowledge and vocabulary specified in the curriculum into pupils' long-term memory. The school must ensure that all staff have the knowledge, skills and understanding to implement the curriculum so that pupils deepen their knowledge and understanding consistently well.
• Sometimes, the school does not use pupils' assessment information effectively to check where pupils have gaps or misconceptions in their knowledge. This means that teaching does not provide effective feedback about how pupils can progress more successfully in their learning. As a result, these gaps and misconceptions in pupils' learning persist, and they cannot integrate new knowledge into larger ideas. The school must ensure that assessment systems are utilised effectively to support and enable pupils' progression through the curriculum.

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