Every Oxfordshire school with a ‘requires improvement’ and ‘inadequate’ Ofsted rating

Ofsted rates schools on a scale from ‘inadequate’, to ‘satisfactory’, ‘good’ and finally ‘outstanding’.

The ‘satisfactory’ grade was replaced in 2012 by ‘requires improvement’ in order to tackle coasting schools.

READ MORE: Every Oxfordshire primary school with an 'outstanding' Ofsted rating 

Here is why these schools have been rated as ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’:

Abbey Woods Academy - Wallingford 

The school has retained a ‘requires improvement’ rating since 2017.

The school received an ‘inadequate’ rating in 2015 and since then has received two full inspections, one in 2017 and another in 2019 which were both rated as ‘requires improvement’.

Whilst the school was rated overall as ‘requires improvement’ it did receive ‘good’ ratings in three areas. These were: ‘behaviour and attitudes’, ‘personal development’ and ‘Early years provision’.

The report said: “The quality of the wider curriculum is not good. Leaders have not yet considered what knowledge should be taught and when in subjects other than English and mathematics.”

It did note, however, that ‘Leaders ensure that staff focus on teaching reading from the moment children start school’ and ‘Staff are well trained and skilled in teaching phonics (letters and the sounds they represent)’.

Bayards Hill School - Oxford 

The school has retained a ‘requires improvement’ rating since 2017.

The school received a second full inspection in 2019 in which it retained its ‘requires improvement’ rating.

The most recent inspection found all areas of the school were rated as ‘requires improvement’ except ‘Early Years Provision’ which was rated as ‘inadequate’.

The report found: “Many teachers are passionate about improving what their pupils learn.”

However, it also noted ‘some teachers do not the level of expertise yet to ensure pupils learn well. For example, in mathematics and science not all staff have secure subject knowledge’.

The report also said: “Leaders admit that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have not been well supported. This is now changing.”

Bicester Technology Studio - Bicester 

The school received an overall ‘requires improvement’ rating in 2019 and the report found all areas of the school were rated at this level.

The inspection found: “In 2018, pupils’ outcomes in their chosen courses at key stages 4 and 5 were too low. Disadvantaged pupils and middle-ability pupils made poor progress across a range of subjects.”

It also added ‘The quality of teaching and assessment is not consistently good across the school’ and ‘Past weaknesses in senior leadership and governance meant that standards achieved during the first two years of the school’s operation were poor’.

Carterton Community College - Carterton

The school has held a ‘requires improvement’ rating since 2018.

The school received a ‘good’ rating in 2006 before dropping down to ‘satisfactory’ in 2009. It then returned to ‘good’ in 2013 before moving down to ‘requires improvement’ in 2018.

The inspection found all areas of the school were rated as ‘requires improvement’ except Personal development, behaviour and welfare which was rated as ‘good’.

The report said: “Leaders at all levels do not monitor and evaluate the progress of pupils and students regularly. Consequently, those who are falling behind are not identified and appropriately supported.”

It did also find that ‘Some staff plan engaging lessons that challenge pupils of differing abilities to develop their knowledge and understanding’. However, ‘others have low expectations of pupils. In these classes, pupils do not develop their subject expertise.’

Carterton Primary School - Carterton

The school has retained a ‘requires improvement’ rating since 2019.

The school received three ‘satisfactory’ ratings between 2006 and 2011 before dropping to ‘inadequate’ in 2013. The school then achieved a ‘good’ rating in 2015 before moving back down to ‘requires improvement’ in 2019.

The report found most areas of the school were rated as ‘requires improvement’, except for ‘Personal development, behaviour and welfare’ and ‘Early years provision’ which were rated as ‘good’.

The inspection found: “Teaching is not yet good. Recent developments have ensured that teachers now know how to improve their practice.

“As a result, the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics has improved in some classes. However, it is not consistent across all classes and subjects.”

It also added: “The quality of teaching and pupils’ progress in subjects other than English and mathematics is too variable.”

Chilworth House Upper School - Oxford 

The school has held a ‘requires improvement’ rating since 2019.

Prior to this rating, the school achieved two ‘good’ ratings between 2012 and 2016.

Overall, the school ‘requires improvement’ in all areas.

The report found: “The quality of teaching varies between year groups and subjects. Variations in teaching mean that some pupils do not achieve as well as they should.”

It also noted: “Teaching is not always strong enough to ensure that all pupils, including the most able, learn well.”

Cropredy Church of England Primary School - Banbury

The school has held a ‘requires improvement’ rating since 2018.

It received a ‘satisfactory’ rating in 2006 before achieving two ‘good’ ratings between 2009 and 2014, finally dropping to ‘requires improvement’ in 2019.

The report found most areas of the school were rated as ‘requires improvement’, except ‘Personal development, behaviour and welfare’ and ‘Early years provision’.

The report found: “The quality of teaching and learning is inconsistent. As a result, current pupils do not make consistently strong progress across the curriculum. This includes disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities.”

It added: “Leaders’ and governors’ plans for improvement do not identify precisely what action is required to secure a good quality of education.”

READ MORE: Every Oxfordshire secondary school with an 'outstanding' Ofsted rating

Gateway Primary School - Carterton 

This school has been rated as ‘requires improvement’ since 2019.

The school received two ‘good’ ratings between 2006 and 2009 before dropping to ‘satisfactory’ then ‘inadequate’ in 2011 and 2013. The school once again achieved a ‘good’ rating in 2015 before dropping to ‘requires improvement’ in 2019.

The inspection revealed most areas of the schools were rated as ‘requires improvement’ except ‘Personal development, behaviour and welfare’ and ‘Early years provision’ which were rated as ‘good’.

The report said: “Not all teaching helps pupils to achieve well. Teachers do not have consistently high expectations for what pupils can achieve or for the quality of pupils’ work. Often, the challenge for the most able pupils is not high enough.”

It added: “The progress of disadvantaged pupils is too slow because the pupil premium grant is not spent wisely to help disadvantaged pupils catch up.”

Gosford Hill School - Kidlington

The school has received two ‘requires improvement’ ratings in 2016 and 2018.

The most recent inspection revealed most areas of the school were rated as ‘requires improvement’, except ‘Personal development, behaviour and welfare’ and ‘16 to 19 study programmes’ which were both good.

The report found: “Leaders’ actions have not secured rapid improvement since the last inspection.

“They do not use the information they gain through careful and structured monitoring to evaluate the impact of their actions closely or to focus improvement activities sufficiently. As a result, standards have not risen quickly enough.”

It also revealed that ‘Pupils do not always know what they need to do to improve their learning’ and because of this ‘their over-reliance on structured support from their teachers restricts their independence and the pace of their learning’.

King Alfred’s - Wantage 

The school received a ‘requires improvement’ rating in 2018.

Every area of the school was rated as ‘requires improvement’ except ‘16 to 19 study programmes’ which achieved an ‘outstanding’ rating.

The inspection found: “Disadvantaged pupils do not make strong progress. The differences between their performance and others nationally are not diminishing quickly.”

It added that ‘Teaching is inconsistent across the school. Some teachers do not have high enough expectations of pupils’ learning or behaviour. They do not challenge pupils to make enough progress’.

However, it did also note that ‘The sixth form is outstanding. Students make excellent progress and achieve highly. Teaching in the sixth form is especially strong’.

Long Wittenham (Church of England) Primary School - Abingdon 

The school has held a ‘requires improvement’ rating since 2019.

This school achieved three ‘good’ ratings between 2006 and 2014 before dropping to ‘requires improvement’ in 2019.

The most recent inspection found most areas of the school were rated as ‘requires improvement’, except ‘Personal development, behaviour and welfare’ and ‘Early years provision’ which were both ‘good’.

The report said: “The quality of teaching is variable across the curriculum. In some year groups, teachers do not use assessment information effectively to identify the next steps in pupils’ learning.”

It also found: “Pupils, particularly the most able, do not always receive work that is sufficiently challenging. As a result, pupils’ progress is hampered and too few pupils reach the higher standards of attainment.”

Millbrook Primary School - Wantage 

The school has retained a ‘requires improvement’ rating since 2020.

This school received two ‘requires improvement’ ratings, the first in 2017 and the second in 2020.

The report found that nearly every area of the school was rated as ‘good’, except ‘The quality of education’ which was rated as ‘requires improvement’.

The report found ‘Early years is a strength of the school’ and ‘Children benefit from carefully designed activities’.

It added: “Leaders are training staff to make sure that learning is sequenced in a way that will enable pupils to build their knowledge well.

“Currently, this is not the case across the school. Where staff have been trained, the improvements are promising.”

St John Fisher Catholic Primary School - Oxford 

The school has held a ‘requires improvement’ rating since 2019.

Most areas of the school were rated as ‘requires improvement’ however both ‘Behaviour and attitudes’ and ‘Personal development’ achieved ‘good’ ratings.

The most recent inspection found that ‘In recent years, pupils have not done well enough in reading, writing and mathematics’. It said ‘Leaders identified that they needed to change their approach to the teaching of these subjects’.

It also noted that in subjects other than maths and English ‘there are no clear plans detailing the skills and knowledge that pupils need to know. In these subjects, teachers’ plans do not help pupils to learn more based on what they already know’.

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School - Carterton 

This school has retained a ‘requires improvement’ rating since 2020.

The school was awarded a ‘good’ rating in 2013 before dropping to ‘inadequate’ in 2017, then moving back up to ‘requires improvement’ in 2020.

The most recent inspection report revealed the school was rated as ‘requires improvement’ in most areas, except ‘Behaviour and attitudes’ and ‘Personal development’ which both achieved ‘good’.

The report said: “Some teachers do not have the knowledge they need to teach the range of subjects well. Consequently, pupils do not gain some of the important knowledge to help them achieve well across the curriculum. Pupils sometimes complete tasks that do not link well with what they know already or can do.

The Treehouse School - Cholsey 

The school has held an ‘inadequate’ rating since 2019.

The school achieved a ‘good’ rating in 2013 before dropping to ‘requires improvement’ in 2017 and then ‘inadequate’ in 2019.

The report found most areas of the school were rated as ‘inadequate’ except for ‘Quality of teaching, learning and assessment’ and ‘Outcomes for pupils’ which both achieved ‘good’ ratings.

The inspection found: “Safeguarding is ineffective. Concerns are not logged systematically or in enough detail. For instance, leaders do not record or retain the particulars of important conversations between adults and pupils.”

It also added: “Leaders do not keep a watchful enough eye on pupils’ well-being. Their approach to recording accidents and monitoring pupils’ attendance is not careful enough. This limits leaders’ ability to see patterns emerge and then take timely action.”

Tower Hill Community Primary School - Witney

The school has retained a ‘requires improvement’ rating since 2018.

The most recent inspection found every area of the school was rated as ‘requires improvement’, except ‘Early years provision’ which was ‘good’.

The report said: “In the past, leaders and managers have failed to maintain a good standard of education at Tower Hill. As a result, pupils’ achievements have fallen.”

It added: “Some pupils do yet demonstrate the behaviours to be successful learners. Currently, staff do not have common expectations about what good learning looks like in the classroom.”