Oasis Academy Ryelands Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment further so that pupils, including those from low and average starting points, make substantial and sustained progress by:
  • ensuring that pupils from low and average starting points, including disadvantaged pupils, have the vocabulary and sentence structures to be able to explain their thinking more fully
  • further developing the communication skills of children in the early years who have low starting points in that area of learning.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• Since opening as part of the Oasis family, leaders, members of the local academy council and those responsible for regional governance have rapidly improved outcomes for pupils.
• The principal holds senior and middle leaders robustly to account for the aspects of the school’s work they oversee. They are all highly ambitious for the school, its pupils, their families and the community in which they are based. Staff and pupils strive to live the school’s values in all that they do.
• Leaders, the regional director and members of the local academy council have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and plan astutely for continued improvement.
• Leaders have been extremely successful in developing their staff. Staff now regularly discuss what makes effective teaching. Teachers are proud of what they do well and are keen to improve their practice further. There is a highly effective shared approach to improvement, with staff using each other’s strengths to develop their own skills. Those at the early stages of their career are well supported. The responses from the staff survey show that staff are extremely positive about their roles. All of those who responded had a clear understanding of the school’s aims.
• Well supported by senior staff, middle leaders are increasingly effective in their roles. Those who are relatively new to leadership get valuable help to develop the necessary skills. Aspiring leaders have the opportunity to shadow those already in post. In this way, the school is looking to the future and building the capacity internally to maintain this high-quality workforce.
• The school engages well with the local authority, working together in a range of ways to reach their communal aim of ensuring that pupils receive the best provision possible. Oasis Academy Ryelands both gives to and gains from this relationship where skills and expertise are shared.
• Pupils benefit from a broad curriculum. To maximise skills taught in lessons, there is a wide range of enrichment activities so that pupils can specialise in or develop a particular talent or interest. For example, on top of music lessons, pupils can join a choir or learn to play the steel pan drums. To supplement the learning of Mandarin as a modern foreign language, pupils can study Chinese crafts, singing and tai chi after school. There are strong links across subjects through carefully planned topics with engaging titles such as ‘paws, claws and whiskers’ and ‘I am a warrior’.
• Additional funding is spent in a way which maximises pupils’ experiences. Leaders use the pupil premium grant highly effectively to ensure that disadvantaged pupils catch up and differences between their achievement and that of other pupils nationally are rapidly diminishing. In the early years, the difference has been eradicated. By spending the physical education and sports premium wisely, leaders have increased participation rates in physical activities. They have supplemented this by making judicious links with nearby sports clubs such as Crystal Palace diving club so that pupils can engage in sports that they would otherwise be unable to access. The special educational needs funding has been used extremely well to accelerate eligible pupils’ rates of progress.
• The promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. Pupils are respectful and have a truly inclusive approach towards others. Because the school is such a fundamental part of the community, pupils have the opportunity of mixing with different generations, such as when serving tea at a local care home. This supports their social development well. The high-quality books pupils study often prompt deep discussion about moral issues. Cultural diversity is celebrated in a range of ways. This helps pupils to see the importance of tolerance and become advocates for equality.
• Key values, including fundamental British values, underpin the curriculum and life in the school. With their rapidly improving attainment and progress, their exemplary behaviour and their strong understanding of these values, pupils are exceptionally well prepared for moving on to secondary school and becoming model citizens.

Governance of the school

• The regional director works closely with the principal and other senior leaders to hold them to account for the quality of their work. She makes judicious use of the extended Oasis Community Learning team, who have a high level of skills and knowledge to impart. Advocacy for disadvantaged pupils is a key principle for Oasis as a whole, and she has successfully ensured that outcomes for this group have improved dramatically.
• The local academy council is rooted in the local community and knows the school well. Its members use this knowledge to support and challenge leaders in a range of ways. For example, they recently conducted research on gangs in the wider area to ensure that pupils were being taught all they needed to know to stay safe.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders have refined their approach so that records are now detailed and thorough. The principal meets with the safeguarding team on a weekly basis to review the most vulnerable pupils. This vigilance ensures that actions are taken and followed up to optimise pupils’ safety. Staff are absolutely clear that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. They know what constitutes a concern and how to report anything that fits the criteria.
• All staff and those responsible for governance at a regional and local level have had the relevant training. This covers a wide range of areas from risks inherent in using technology, including mobile phones, to preventing pupils from being exposed to radicalisation and extremism. Recent case studies show that staff correctly identify warning signs and act accordingly to ensure a positive outcome.
• Parents are extremely positive about how happy and safe their children feel. All the pupils who spoke to inspectors echoed this view. Equally, all staff who responded to the survey agree that pupils are safe at school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Since the school opened, the quality of teaching has improved rapidly. The high standards that the principal and his team set have raised expectations. Pupils in turn have risen to the challenge, clearly enjoy their work and engage well in lessons.
• Teachers use assessment effectively to identify pupils’ starting points. This ensures that the tasks they set meet pupils’ needs well. Teachers regularly check pupils’ understanding so that they can move on to new concepts as soon as they are ready. This maximises learning time. Standards are rising as a result.
• The activities that teachers plan have several stages of complexity and pupils are increasingly confident in choosing the stage that presents them with the appropriate level of challenge. It was common to see, both in classes and in books, pupils shifting to the next challenge mid-lesson.
• Teachers have good subject knowledge and explain new concepts clearly. They understand how skills build progressively on what has already been learned. Consequently, they take care to make sure that pupils are secure in what they know before moving them on.
• The teaching of phonics supports pupils to be able to tackle unfamiliar words confidently. Pupils enjoy reading and can talk well about the books they have read.
• Due to the topic-based nature of the curriculum, pupils have plenty of opportunities to hone their reading and writing skills across a wide range of subjects. The quality of writing in, for example, geography or history is as good as that seen in English books.
• In order to plug gaps in pupils’ vocabulary, teachers introduce ambitious new words every day. They choose these words carefully and explain them well so that pupils are able to use them immediately in their writing. For example, in the sentence: ‘... were pusillanimous, on the other hand ... is brave’, ‘pusillanimous’ is used correctly as it is indeed the opposite of brave.
• Teaching assistants work effectively to support learning in class by checking pupils’ understanding and intervening to clarify misconceptions. They also lead carefully targeted sessions for small groups of pupils who need to catch up.
• The recent introduction of reasoning across the curriculum means that, in a range of subjects, pupils have to think carefully, weigh up pros and cons and present a coherent argument to support their opinions. For example, in geography, Year 5 had to consider whether mummification had any place in modern life. All mathematics tasks contain an element of reasoning.
• This new approach has strongly benefited the most able, including most-able disadvantaged pupils, who relish these opportunities to deepen their thinking and express themselves authoritatively. However, pupils from low and average starting points have not had sufficient support to develop the vocabulary and sentence structure needed to express their ideas fully and so are not reaping the benefits to the same extent.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. Leaders provide a range of measures to ensure that pupils’ physical and emotional well-being is optimised. Calming music, head and shoulder massage and time for reflection create an atmosphere that is highly conducive to strong learning. Counsellors work with pupils who have specific needs, and this supports healthy emotional development.
• Leaders have used the sports premium well to promote physical fitness. Attendance at the many extra-curricular sports clubs has increased, with leaders ensuring that as many pupils as possible are included, especially those targeted for health reasons.
• Pupils have a well-developed sense of fairness and equality. They believe that prejudice and intolerance are unacceptable, seeing difference as something to be celebrated, as an opportunity to learn. They subscribe wholeheartedly to the school’s principle that no one is left out.
• Pupils have excellent attitudes to learning. They constantly seek challenge because they know that the best learning comes from overcoming obstacles. They show immense resilience when confronted with hurdles. For example, when reading, if faced with a difficult, unfamiliar word, they will employ a range of strategies, including their knowledge of phonics, until they have worked it out.
• Pupils say that they feel very safe in school. They appreciate the work school leaders do to teach them to keep themselves safe, for example learning first aid, how to use equipment carefully and how to react in case of fire.
• There is an exceptionally strong focus on online safety. Pupils are fully aware of the key principles of staying safe when using the internet. They say that the regular reminders as part of the computing curriculum mean there is no chance of forgetting or misunderstanding. They are vigilant in their commitment to ensuring that cyber bullying never affects them.
• Pupils are also conversant with other types of bullying. They recognise that it can occur in different forms, some of which can be quite subtle. They say that it is no longer a problem in school. On the very rare occasions that it does occur, adults are quick to deal with it effectively.
• Building on pupils’ innate sense of justice, leaders are now working on developing pupils’ understanding of how to intervene safely should they witness an act of bullying.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Pupils are respectful and polite. They conduct themselves with great regard for others as they go about their daily business. This extends to their conduct in lessons, where they are mindful that a distraction, however minor, can impede learning. Consequently, lessons proceed without disruption.
• Leaders keep careful records of behavioural incidents. These records show that incidents and exclusions have reduced significantly. The behaviour policy gives staff clear guidelines for promoting excellent behaviour.
• As well as following school rules, each class devises its own charter, based on principles enshrined in human rights. Pupils understand that observing rules is for the greater good, so follow them unreservedly.
• Leaders have made impressive gains with their relentless focus on attendance. Working closely with families, and external agencies where necessary, leaders have brought in a raft of successful measures to ensure that pupils are at school as frequently as possible to maximise learning.
• Overall attendance has risen to well above last year’s national average. The proportion of pupils classed as persistent absentees has nearly halved, bringing it well below the national average for 2016. Good attendance is rightly celebrated and pupils are proud when they receive recognition.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Leaders have been successful in accelerating pupils’ progress and raising attainment across the school.
• Pupils made good progress from their starting points across key stage 1 to reach the expected standard by the end of Year 2 last year, and outcomes were above average in mathematics and well above in reading and writing. Progress across key stage 2 also improved from well below to in line with the national average in those subjects. This good progress continues and the school’s information about pupils’ achievement indicates that standards will rise further this year, particularly at the end of Year 6.
• The school has successfully increased the proportion of Year 1 pupils who attained the expected standard in phonics so that, in 2016, it equalled the national average.
• Outcomes for groups are improving. Disadvantaged pupils do well and make the progress necessary to diminish any differences between their attainment and that of other pupils nationally.
• The most able pupils, including most-able disadvantaged pupils, make consistently strong progress because teaching presents them with a good level of challenge. The focus on reasoning and justifying answers fully across a range of subjects is proving to have a significant impact on deepening their learning.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make very good progress from their starting points. This is because the special educational needs funding is used extremely well. Staff check what these pupils know and can do exceptionally carefully and put bespoke programmes in place to fill any gaps in their learning.
• Work in pupils’ books confirms that pupils acquire new skills at a good pace and are given opportunities to practise and embed them. However, pupils from low and average starting points are not yet benefiting as much as the most able from the focus on reasoning.

Early years provision Good

• Leaders have worked well to improve the quality of teaching and children’s outcomes in the early years. The proportion of children leaving the Reception class having attained a good level of development has increased year on year so that, by 2016, it was slightly above the national average. This means that children are well prepared for Year 1.
• The evidence that leaders gather to catalogue children’s learning shows that children make good progress from their starting points in different areas of the early years curriculum. This is most pronounced in writing, which has been an improvement priority this year.
• Safeguarding is effective and statutory welfare requirements are met. Leaders ensure that children learn how to keep themselves safe, including how to manage appropriate risks, for example when climbing or using tools.
• A lot of thought has gone into the learning environment both indoors and outdoors. It is bright and appealing and children make good use of it.
• Children’s behaviour is good. When playing or waiting in the lunch queue, they show patience and good manners. They take turns well and share toys and equipment.
• Leaders use the additional funding effectively to eliminate any differences and ensure that outcomes for disadvantaged children are in line with other children nationally.
• Engaging parents is a particular strength. During the inspection, parents were observed playing alongside their children in Reception and Nursery classes. These sessions are very popular and well attended.
• Parents are very positive about the provision in the early years. They find the ideas staff give them to support learning at home particularly useful and say that they get really clear information about how well their children are doing.
• Staff intervene to ensure that children learn well and to suggest ways to deepen learning. However, pupils who have low communication skills do not always get the level of support they need to make the rapid progress required to catch up in this area.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 140674 Croydon 10031682 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy sponsor-led 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 417 Appropriate authority Oasis Community Learning Board Oasis regional director Kirstie Fulthorpe Principal Telephone number Website Email address Glenn Lillo 0208 656 4165 www.oasisacademyryelands.org office@oasisryelands.org Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• Oasis Academy Ryelands is a larger than average-sized primary school which opened as a member of the Oasis Community Learning Trust in May 2014. A year later, the school moved to newly refurbished premises, and in September 2015 the current principal took up post.
• The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged is higher than average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and the proportion of pupils who have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan are broadly average.
• The school is a diverse community with a higher than average proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups. The largest groups are White British, Black Caribbean and Black African. Over a third of pupils speak English as an additional language. This is higher than average.
• The school provides a breakfast club, holiday play scheme and after-school care. The latter two are managed by an external provider.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for the attainment and progress of pupils in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in each year group; the vast majority of the time this was in conjunction with senior leaders.
• The inspection team scrutinised work in pupils’ books from different year groups in a range of subjects.
• Inspectors listened to key stage 1 and key stage 2 pupils reading.
• The inspection team looked at behaviour in classes and around the building and at how pupils conducted themselves at lunchtime and breaktime.
• Inspectors looked at a wide range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plans, records relating to safeguarding, behaviour and attendance, reports from the regional director and her team, minutes of academy council meetings and information regarding pupils’ progress and attainment.
• Discussions were held with senior leaders, the regional director of Oasis Community Learning, the chair of the local academy council, a representative from the local authority, middle leaders, other staff, parents and pupils.
• Inspectors took account of the 107 responses to the online Parent View survey and the comments made using the free-text facility as well as the views of parents to whom they spoke during the inspection. Twenty-five responses to the staff survey were also considered.

Inspection team

Jeanie Jovanova, lead inspector Julian Grenier Julie Davey

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector