A high school in Oldham has been praised for its 'diversity' in its first Ofsted inspection which saw it issued with a 'good' rating.

Oasis Academy Leesbrook on Roxbury Avenue was visited by the education watchdog in January this year.

The school only moved into the building in 2020, making this Ofsted visit its first since opening.

A team of six inspectors, led by Sally Rix, assessed the provision of the school and rated it as 'good' overall.

In Ms Rix's report, she highlighted the "diverse nature" of the school's community and praised leaders for celebrating this through initiatives such as culture day.

The inspectors further found the pupils "feel happy and safe" in the "calm" school and have a strong sense of belonging by spending time in 'family groups' in activities such as family dining.

Some take their education a step further by taking on leadership roles, such as in the student leadership team or by training as a student librarian.

Most of the school's students participate in at least two extra-curricular activities each week.

Ofsted also found the students have trusted adults that they can talk to and the school deals with bullying and misbehaviour well.

When it came to the leaders, the inspectorate found staff to be "highly ambitious" and committed to addressing social disadvantage. 

Ofsted found while staff workloads have been reduced by leaders, members of the team "appreciate" the support and feel "proud" to work at the school.

Staff were also found to have equally high expectations of pupils' behaviour, helping them to perform and achieve well.

The report further revealed a high proportion of Oasis Academy Leesbrook pupils follow the English Baccalaureate, where all of its Year 11 students are studying the full suite of subjects available.

The curriculum was also praised in the report as "high-quality" that has been carefully considered and, as a result, is "relevant" to the students' lives.

The inspector wrote leaders have "chosen topics aimed at broadening pupils' understanding of both their local context and the wider world" while teachers have "strong knowledge" of the topics they teach.

There is also a "sharp focus" on reading at the school and in the wider curriculum, helping students to read fluently and confidently while expanding their vocabulary.

Students who need extra support with their reading are adequately supported.

When assessing safeguarding, the watchdog found Oasis Academy has "robust" systems in place.

However, Ofsted noted that teachers sometimes do not check pupils' knowledge, potentially leading to gaps in their learning.

In addition, while pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn the same ambitious curriculum as their peers which helps "most" pupils to achieve well, the report found that leaders don't identify and support some SEND students as swiftly as they could.

To improve further, the inspectors said the above areas must be addressed by leaders.