Oldfield School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 21 January 2025

The school community has recently re-set the school values. 'Kindness' has been a particular focus. As a result, pupils rightly describe a culture of care and compassion in their school. Pupils appreciate the ways in which staff listen to and support them. They are confident that if they have a concern, staff help them. The school has high expectations for pupils to achieve well. For example, the 'super curriculum' helps pupils to build on their learning. The school has further raised their expectations of pupil conduct. This led to an increase in sanctions for a few pupils, but this is now reducing. Pupils behave well. They are polite and courteous. The number of students in the sixth form has grown. They actively contribute to being part of the wider school community. For example, many students learn to teach English as an additional language. They support and mentor younger pupils who have English as an additional language. This high-quality scheme builds strong relationships between students and pupils. Many pupils attend the school council. They contribute to decisions that improve the experience of school for all. Pupils know the school listens to and values their views.

What the school should improve

• At times, teachers do not sufficiently check on how well pupils understand their learning. When this happens, misconceptions are not identified, and pupils do not know what they need to do next to progress. The school should ensure that strategies for checking what pupils know, helps pupils to progress in their learning.
• The school's actions to improve literacy through the curriculum is not implemented well in a few subjects. This means some pupils do not learn their vocabulary, spelling or develop their reading of texts as well as the school intends. The school should ensure the expectations for teaching literacy through the curriculum are in place.

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