Sires Hill Primary Academy

The school is performing very well overall, with inspectors finding effective practice across achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development. Pupils achieve well, including in the Year 1 phonics screening check, and children in nursery benefit from high-quality interactions that build communication and vocabulary. Pupils with SEND and other potential barriers are supported well, and attendance is strong, with vulnerable pupils attending more regularly. Behaviour is a notable strength, with a calm and positive atmosphere, respectful pupils and rare low-level disruption. The curriculum is well sequenced from nursery to Year 6, foundational skills are taught securely, and staff have strong subject knowledge. The school is highly inclusive, and personal development is broad, with an impressive range of clubs, trips and activities. Leadership is effective, staff and parents are positive, and safeguarding standards are met. This is a new and growing school that opened in September 2023 and currently admits pupils up to Year 2, with plans to extend to Year 6. It is part of Omnia Learning Trust. The main next step is to sustain the school’s effective practice and ensure it remains impactful across all ages as Key Stage 2 is developed. No significant weaknesses were identified in the inspection.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve well across the school, including high outcomes in the Year 1 phonics screening check.
• Children in nursery benefit from high-quality interactions that develop communication and vocabulary.
• Pupils with SEND and other barriers to learning are well supported and achieve highly.
• Attendance is highly effective, including for vulnerable pupils who previously struggled to attend.
• Pupils behave well and contribute to a calm, positive atmosphere.
• The curriculum is well sequenced from nursery to Year 6 and builds secure foundational skills.
• Teaching is purposeful and teachers have detailed subject knowledge to adapt learning.
• Early years provision is calm, happy and purposeful, with precise support for children who need it.
• The school is highly inclusive and places pupils’ needs at the centre of its work.
• Leadership has successfully grown the school while maintaining consistency and quality.
• Staff and parents are very positive about the school.
• Personal development is broad, with an impressive range of clubs, trips and activities that reduce barriers.
• Pastoral support is effective and supported by strong links with families.

Areas for Improvement

• As the school continues to grow, leaders should ensure effective practice is sustained and remains impactful across all ages, including through the development of Key Stage 2 classes.

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, 0.0% of pupils at Sires Hill Primary Academy 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 Sires Hill Primary Academy had 17.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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 Sires Hill Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.0% 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 Sires Hill Primary Academy received £13,186 and spent £12,633 for each of its 68 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £104,000 (£1,529 per pupil).

Across all 4 schools of Omnia Learning Trust, income was £7,110 and spending £6,966 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 Didcot · Oxfordshire local authority: places and applications

Sires Hill Primary Academy is part of Omnia Learning Trust, which runs 4 schools. The nearest others:

• Didcot Primary Academy Didcot
• Wantage Primary Academy Wantage
• Twickenham Primary Academy Twickenham

What is Sires Hill Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sires Hill Primary Academy is Strong standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Sires Hill Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Sires Hill Primary Academy was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Sires Hill Primary Academy have?

Sires Hill Primary Academy has 117 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sires Hill Primary Academy cover?

Sires Hill Primary Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

Where is Sires Hill Primary Academy?

Sires Hill Primary Academy is at Darwin Drive, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 9GY.