Oldbrook First School and Nursery

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 12 July 2023

The school's vision, 'together we make a difference', comes to life through its inclusive and welcoming culture. Pupils feel special, valued and safe as soon as they join the school. They know and understand the school's values and take great pride in earning golden stickers when they work hard, play fairly and show kindness towards each other. Parents and carers appreciate that staff care deeply for pupils and that they provide enjoyable opportunities to engage pupils in their learning. At Oldbrook, leaders successfully combine their high academic aspirations for every child with strength of care, nurture and love. Leaders know every pupil well. They have built positive and trusting relationships which enable staff to provide effective support for pupils. This includes help for pupils who may find managing their behaviour more difficult. Staff have consistently high expectations for pupils' learning and behaviour. Pupils proudly meet leaders' expectations. They are considerate and show respect for each other and their teachers. Leaders take all concerns about bullying seriously. They deal effectively with incidents of unkind behaviour and pupils say that bullying does not really happen. They feel safe and trust adults to help them resolve any disputes.

What the school should improve

• In a few subjects, leaders have not yet precisely identified the essential knowledge that they want pupils to learn in the curriculum. This means that teachers do not always know exactly what knowledge needs to be taught and revisited. Leaders need to ensure that, across all subjects, the key knowledge that pupils should learn is coherently planned and sequenced from the beginning of early years.
• Teachers' checks on pupils' learning in the foundation subjects are not precise enough. This means that learning is not always tailored to what pupils already know. Leaders need to refine their approaches to assessment so that teachers can identify pupils' learning gaps and adjust their next steps accordingly.

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