Oasis Academy Sholing

Oasis Academy Sholing is a mixed 11–16 secondary comprehensive academy within Oasis Community Learning. This inspection found leadership and management, behaviour and attitudes, and personal development to be good, while the quality of education requires improvement. Safeguarding is effective. The school has made noticeable progress since its previous inspection, especially in behaviour: expectations are clearer, pupils describe the school as kind, bullying is largely rare, lessons are typically calm, and suspensions have fallen because pupils who struggle receive support. Leaders are strategic and well supported by the trust and governance, and staff understand the school’s aims. Pupils benefit from a sequentially designed curriculum, strong subject knowledge, reading support, and a personal development programme that helps improve behaviour and belonging. Careers education, clubs, enrichment and opportunities to influence decisions are strengths. However, learning experiences are too variable. In some lessons, activities do not help pupils learn the intended knowledge, misconceptions and gaps are not consistently corrected, and learning moves on before pupils fully understand. Pupils with SEND are not consistently given adapted tasks, so some do not build knowledge as well as they should. Attendance remains a priority. The school uses forensic approaches and therapeutic/external support, and attendance has improved, particularly for disadvantaged pupils, but too many pupils are still persistently and significantly absent. Overall, the school is improving and has clear strengths in behaviour, personal development and leadership, but it must make teaching and learning more consistently effective, especially for pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and those who attend poorly.

Strengths

• Behaviour has improved through a consistent whole-school approach
• Pupils describe the school as kind and say bullying is now rare
• Staff follow clear routines, so lessons are typically calm and disruption is limited
• Pupils who struggle with behaviour are supported, and suspensions have fallen significantly
• Leadership is informed and strategic, with strong trust and governance support
• The curriculum is sequentially designed and ambitious
• Staff have strong subject knowledge and generally explain concepts clearly
• Pupils who find reading difficult receive appropriate additional support
• Personal development work has improved pupils’ behaviour and sense of belonging
• Pupils learn British values through practical opportunities such as school elections
• A wide range of clubs and enrichment develops pupils’ talents and interests
• Careers education is well designed and integrated across subjects
• Attendance strategies have helped many pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• The quality of education requires improvement
• Learning activities are too variable and do not always help pupils learn the intended knowledge
• Teachers do not consistently correct misconceptions or fill gaps before moving on
• Learning sometimes moves on before pupils fully understand concepts
• Tasks are not consistently adapted for pupils with SEND
• Some pupils with SEND do not build knowledge as well as they should
• Too many pupils remain persistently or significantly absent
• Attendance strategies need further work for pupils with persistent and significant absence
• Disadvantaged pupils and poor attenders are particularly affected by gaps in learning

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 Sholing attended 89.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 27.2% 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, 4.8% of pupils at Oasis Academy Sholing 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 Sholing had 20.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 28.8% 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, 20.1% of pupils at Oasis Academy Sholing were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 Sholing received £8,646 and spent £7,972 for each of its 1,032 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £905,000 (£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.

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

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

• Oasis Academy Mayfield Southampton
• Oasis Academy Lord's Hill Southampton
• Oasis Academy Byron Coulsdon
• Oasis Academy Coulsdon Croydon
• Oasis Academy Brislington Bristol
• Oasis Academy John Williams Bristol
• Oasis Academy New Oak Bristol
• Oasis Academy Daventry Road Bristol
• Oasis Academy Connaught Bristol
• Oasis Academy Marksbury Road Bedminster

What is Oasis Academy Sholing's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Oasis Academy Sholing is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Oasis Academy Sholing last inspected by Ofsted?

Oasis Academy Sholing was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Oasis Academy Sholing have?

Oasis Academy Sholing has 1,030 pupils on roll.

What age range does Oasis Academy Sholing cover?

Oasis Academy Sholing for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Oasis Academy Sholing's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 40.9, and 34% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Oasis Academy Sholing?

Oasis Academy Sholing is at Middle Road, Sholing, Southampton, SO19 8PH.