Oakwood Primary School

Ofsted has been very generous in rating as good school, this should have been significant improvement required. Since the departure of the previous headteacher, the school has struggled with weak leadership and many teachers and TAs have left. Oakwood would benefit from becoming one or two-form entry school, as all the new teachers lack experience of mixed year teaching. Children in mix years classes struggle to settle and are often unhappy as they have to adapt to 15 children that are either younger or older year group. There are big issues with bullying, and there are growing number of neurodiverse pupils at Oakwood, without receiving necessary support and resources. The part-time SENCO lead, who also teaches and manages a class, frequently disturbs the learning environment by being out of classroom and also lack interpersonal skills. High number of parents spread rumours and gossip, its not a very welcoming school community. I wouldn't recommend sending your child here, unless you are prepared for insufficient support, bullying and poor educational quality.

The school grounds are often muddy, and the OPAL system, which was intended to emulate a forest school, has not only failed but has made the school environment worse. The quality of education at Oakwood is subpar, and parents would likely need to hire a private tutor to make up for the shortcomings.
The parent community can be very insular, particularly among PTA members, childminders, and certain more elitist parents. There is a lot of gossiping about other parents and children, which fosters an atmosphere of judgment and exclusivity. While these individuals often pretend to care about the school, they form a clannish group, and if you’re not part of it, they may greet you one day but ignore you the next.
Additionally, some parents are in denial about their child’s issues, always blaming other children instead. You’ll see them gossiping in groups on the playground, but they fail to acknowledge that their child might also be part of the problem. The Tier System behaviour policy is not consistently followed by the teachers, and many of the good teachers have already left.
All in all, I would not recommend sending your child here.

Oakwood Primary St Albans has recently been downgraded and for a good reason. Ofsted report says it all really. The new management team started micromanaging their staff, have no clue about safety or behavioural standards. Half of the teachers have now left and the school is lucky to have been downgraded by a single measure only. It could have easily been „Requires Improvement”.
It’s a middle class, expensive area, the parents are picking up the educational slack

Outstanding primary school. Staff were kind and caring about students. You felt a part of a family and there was always someone you could talk to if you needed help. Never heard anything bad about this school since. Amazing test results and they create the greatest students.