Oak Lodge School maintains good Ofsted rating

A Dibden Purlieu school has maintained its ‘good’ rating following a two-day Ofsted inspection in March.

A report on Oak Lodge School in Roman Road said leaders there have developed a “well-structured curriculum” and that staff are “caring and supportive” to its 156 pupils.

Praising the special school for 11 to 16-year-olds, inspectors wrote: “Parents and carers appreciate the help that staff give to them and their children. Staff understand and support pupils’ individual needs well. Pupils are safe and happy. One parent summed up the views of many when stating, ‘My child has thrived since coming to this school. He is learning important life skills and enjoys coming to school every day.’”

The report added: “Relationships between staff and pupils are very positive. Pupils know staff will look after them and help them to learn. Leaders have high expectations for pupils to achieve well and be prepared for adult life.”

Inspectors found a “strong” safe-guarding culture at the school with “effective” training delivered to staff at all levels.

The report added: “Leaders have designed a well-structured curriculum.

“They have identified the important knowledge that pupils need by the time they leave school. Leaders are keen to ensure that pupils know and remember more over time. In most subjects, teachers organise learning into small steps to match the needs of pupils. In subjects where this is the case, pupils achieve well.”

Despite heaping praise on the school, inspectors found that some subjects – like science and art – are not always “broken down into logical steps” and that this leaves some pupils not always achieving “as well as they could”.

The report continued: “The knowledge that pupils need to learn is not identified precisely enough. This limits some pupils’ understanding of important concepts and leaders should ensure that they identify what pupils need to learn in all subjects.”

Oak Lodge School has been approached for a comment by the A&T.