Oasis Academy Shirley Park

Oasis Academy Shirley Park is a large all-through academy in Croydon, part of the Oasis Community Learning Trust, serving pupils from age 3 to 19 across three sites. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was judged good in all key areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, early years and sixth form. Inspectors found high expectations throughout, a broad and ambitious curriculum, strong reading and phonics support, effective SEND provision, calm and purposeful lessons, and a comprehensive personal development and careers programme. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and pupils are safe and happy. The school’s values and aspirational culture are evident across all phases, and sixth-form students achieve highly and move on to ambitious destinations. Trust leaders and trustees have a well-informed understanding of the school and are strongly supportive of staff. Pupils with SEND are well supported, and pupils with SEND in the sixth form receive tailored help with college visits and applications. Two main areas need improvement. Formative assessment is not consistently precise enough, so some misconceptions go unchecked and gaps in pupils’ learning remain. Attendance is a high priority, but overall absence has not reduced as quickly as intended, and persistent and severe absence remain high, particularly for some key groups of pupils.

Strengths

• High expectations are maintained from early years through to the sixth form
• The curriculum is broad, well sequenced and ambitious across all phases
• Reading and phonics are prioritised, with effective support for pupils who fall behind
• Pupils with SEND are identified well and supported effectively in class
• Lessons are calm, focused and purposeful, and pupils behave well
• Personal development is strong, including PSHE, healthy relationships and online safety
• Careers provision is comprehensive and prepares pupils well for future pathways
• Sixth-form students achieve highly and progress to ambitious destinations
• Trust leaders and trustees have high ambitions and an accurate understanding of the school
• Staff feel valued and are well supported with professional development and workload
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Pupils are safe and happy and appreciate the support they receive

Areas for Improvement

• Formative assessment is not used systematically enough, so teachers do not always check precisely what pupils have learned
• Some misconceptions go unchecked and gaps in pupils’ knowledge remain
• Attendance has not improved quickly enough, with persistent and severe absence remaining high
• Some key groups of pupils are missing too much education because of poor attendance

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Oasis Academy Shirley Park attended 90.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 29.8% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 8.0% of pupils at Oasis Academy Shirley Park were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Oasis Academy Shirley Park had 20.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 51.9% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 13.2% of pupils at Oasis Academy Shirley Park were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 1 pupil.

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Oasis Academy Shirley Park received £9,234 and spent £9,559 for each of its 1,675 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,469,000 (£877 per pupil).

Across all 56 schools of Oasis Community Learning, income was £9,249 and spending £9,031 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Croydon · Croydon local authority: places and applications

Oasis Academy Shirley Park is part of Oasis Community Learning, which runs 57 schools. The nearest others:

• Oasis Academy Shirley Park Primary Croydon
• Oasis Academy Arena London
• Oasis Academy Ryelands London
• Oasis Academy Byron Coulsdon
• Oasis Academy Coulsdon Croydon
• Oasis Academy Surrey Square London
• Oasis Academy South Bank London
• Oasis Academy South Bank Primary London
• Oasis Academy Silvertown London
• Oasis School 360 London

What is Oasis Academy Shirley Park's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Oasis Academy Shirley Park is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Oasis Academy Shirley Park last inspected by Ofsted?

Oasis Academy Shirley Park was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Oasis Academy Shirley Park have?

Oasis Academy Shirley Park has 1,017 pupils on roll.

What age range does Oasis Academy Shirley Park cover?

Oasis Academy Shirley Park for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are Oasis Academy Shirley Park's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 40.6, and 35% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Oasis Academy Shirley Park?

Oasis Academy Shirley Park is at Shirley Road, Croydon, Surrey, CR9 7AL.