Oakdale Junior School

Oakdale Junior School is a welcoming and caring school where high expectations are matched by pupils' positive response; the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management are all good. This was the school's first routine graded inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first inspection under section 5, and it is part of Coastal Learning Partnership, with a headteacher appointed in January 2024. The trust and governors know the school well, support improvement proactively, and staff feel valued. Reading is a clear strength, with swift and expert support for pupils who are not fluent readers and a well-considered comprehension curriculum once pupils move beyond phonics. The curriculum has been reviewed and designed progressively, with strong practice in subjects such as art and mathematics, and pupils with SEND or English as an additional language are generally identified and supported well. Personal development is a particular strength: pupils benefit from a wide range of clubs, trips and pupil leadership opportunities, learn about diversity and British values, and are well prepared for life beyond Oakdale. Behaviour is orderly, pupils are keen to learn, attendance is regular, and safeguarding is effective. The main areas for improvement are assessment in some subjects, where learning checks are less well developed and information is not always used effectively to address misconceptions, and the precise identification of some disadvantaged pupils' barriers to learning, which can leave gaps in their knowledge and limit achievement in some areas.

Strengths

• Welcoming, caring ethos with high expectations that pupils rise to
• Calm and purposeful environment with positive pupil attitudes to learning
• Reading is central, with swift phonics support and expert staff
• Well-considered reading comprehension curriculum once pupils are fluent
• Aspirational, progressively designed curriculum reviewed with determination
• Learning is revisited frequently in subjects such as art and mathematics
• SEND and EAL pupils' needs are accurately identified and well supported
• Personal development programme is a strength, including diversity education
• Wide range of clubs, trips and pupil leadership opportunities
• Pupils learn how to stay safe and are prepared well for life beyond school
• School works closely with families to remove barriers to attendance
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Trust and governors know the school well and staff feel valued

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment and learning checks are not well developed in some subjects
• Learning checks do not always focus on the most important knowledge or are less regular
• Assessment information is not always used effectively to strengthen the curriculum
• Misconceptions are not always addressed, leaving a few pupils with gaps in knowledge
• Some disadvantaged pupils' needs are not precisely identified
• Some pupil premium pupils do not benefit as well as they could and achieve less well than peers in some areas

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 Oakdale Junior School attended 94.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.5% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

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, 1.2% of pupils at Oakdale Junior School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 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 Oakdale Junior School had 18.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.9% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

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, 15.4% of pupils at Oakdale Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

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 primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Oakdale Junior School received £6,208 and spent £6,168 for each of its 420 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £52,000 (£123 per pupil).

Across all 20 schools of Coastal Learning Partnership, income was £6,936 and spending £6,570 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 Poole · Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole local authority: places and applications

Oakdale Junior School is part of Coastal Learning Partnership, which runs 20 schools. The nearest others:

• Longfleet Church of England Primary School Poole
• Old Town Infant School and Nursery Poole
• Baden-Powell and St Peter's Church of England Junior School Poole
• Courthill Infant School Poole
• Lilliput Church of England Infant School Poole
• Heatherlands Primary School Poole
• Heathlands Primary Academy Bournemouth
• St Luke's Church of England Primary School Bournemouth
• Queen's Park Infant Academy Bournemouth
• Bethany Church of England Junior School Bournemouth

What is Oakdale Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Oakdale Junior School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Oakdale Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Oakdale Junior School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Oakdale Junior School have?

Oakdale Junior School has 376 pupils on roll.

What age range does Oakdale Junior School cover?

Oakdale Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Oakdale Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 54% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Oakdale Junior School?

Oakdale Junior School is at School Lane, Poole, Dorset, BH15 3JR.