Oakley School

Oakley School is a growing school that opened in September 2023 and is part of Stowe Valley Multi Academy Trust. This was its first inspection. The school has a high proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including a specially resourced provision, and it serves a complex community with high mobility, some pupils awaiting specialist placements and significant social, emotional and mental health needs. Safeguarding standards are met. The strongest areas are early years and personal development and wellbeing, where leaders have created a nurturing, inclusive and ambitious provision. Children settle quickly, early reading and phonics are taught well, and pupils benefit from extensive enrichment, strong pastoral support and a coherent programme that builds confidence, resilience and cultural awareness. Across much of the school, achievement is secure and improving. Reading and phonics have been a particular focus and are helping pupils build firm foundations. Pupils with SEND often make expected progress where personalised pathways and adaptive teaching are used well, and disadvantaged pupils are effectively supported to access wider opportunities. Governance is effective, staff value the inclusive culture and leaders have a clear, ambitious vision. Attendance systems are increasingly effective, and overall attendance is improving, although persistent absence remains above national averages and continues to affect some pupils, especially disadvantaged pupils and those in key stage 3. Provision is not yet consistently strong across all year groups. In some lessons, teaching does not check understanding or adapt tasks precisely enough, so some pupils do not build knowledge securely. Low-level disruption and inconsistent expectations affect a small minority of older pupils, and some pupils say support in lessons varies or that concerns about unkind behaviour are not always resolved quickly. The school has grown rapidly, and some systems are still embedding. Leaders now need to sustain improvements in attendance, ensure teaching and behaviour expectations are consistently applied, and strengthen communication with parents about the school's changing context.

Strengths

• Nurturing, well-organised early years provision where children feel secure and ready to learn.
• Systematic phonics and early reading teaching that helps children achieve well from their starting points.
• A highly ambitious and coherent personal development and wellbeing programme.
• Extensive enrichment opportunities that pupils value and that are equitably accessed by disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils.
• Strong pastoral systems and a positive relational culture with trusted adults, mentoring and structured support.
• An inclusive curriculum that is thoughtfully adapted for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• A specialist resource provision that provides personalised pathways, builds independence and supports access to mainstream lessons.
• Effective governance with informed challenge and support from those responsible for governance.
• Clear and ambitious leadership that understands the school's complex context and responds quickly to concerns.
• Well-structured support for early career teachers and a culture where staff feel their workload and wellbeing are considered.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.
• Careers education begins early and develops progressively, giving pupils meaningful encounters with employers.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching is not yet consistent across the school, and in some lessons teachers do not check understanding or adapt tasks precisely enough.
• Variability in classroom practice remains a priority for improvement as the school continues to grow.
• Low-level disruption and inconsistent expectations affect a small minority of older pupils in some lessons and social spaces.
• Attendance and persistent absence remain above national averages, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and some pupils in key stage 3.
• High mobility and interrupted attendance affect how securely some pupils remember important knowledge.
• Some pupils say support in lessons varies and that adults do not always respond to their needs in the same way.
• Some quieter older pupils find it harder to ask for help and are not always confident support will reach them at the right time.
• Some pupils say concerns about unkind behaviour are not always resolved as quickly as they would like.
• Leaders need to strengthen communication with parents about the changing context of the school as it continues to grow.

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 Oakley School attended 89.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 27.9% 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, 10.6% of pupils at Oakley School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 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 Oakley School had 17.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.6% 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, 18.3% of pupils at Oakley School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 8.4% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 12 pupils.

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 Oakley School received £10,048 and spent £11,287 for each of its 378 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £31,000 (-£81 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of Stowe Valley Multi Academy Trust, income was £6,523 and spending £6,557 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 Leamington Spa · Warwickshire local authority: places and applications

Oakley School is part of Stowe Valley Multi Academy Trust, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• Myton Gardens Warwick
• Myton School Warwick
• Coten End Primary School Warwick
• Bishops Itchington Primary School Southam
• Southam College Southam
• Southam Primary School Southam
• Kineton High School Warwick
• Temple Herdewyke Primary School Southam
• Stockton Primary School Southam
• Bilton School Rugby

What is Oakley School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Oakley School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Oakley School last inspected by Ofsted?

Oakley School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Oakley School have?

Oakley School has 646 pupils on roll.

What age range does Oakley School cover?

Oakley School for pupils aged 0 to 16.

Where is Oakley School?

Oakley School is at Quercus Way, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV33 9WN.