Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy Review 2026: Ambitious curriculum, strong personal development focus

A large, mixed secondary serving Oldbury and nearby neighbourhoods, this academy is part of Ormiston Academies Trust and has a clear set of shared values, framed locally as Team OSCA. The latest formal inspection confirmed the academy remains Good, with safeguarding effective, and highlighted an ambitious, well sequenced curriculum alongside strengths in staff training and subject knowledge.

Results, however, sit below England averages on several headline measures in the most recent dataset, with a Progress 8 score of -0.37 indicating that students, on average, make less progress than similar pupils nationally. For families, the story is therefore one of a school working with purpose and structure, but still addressing consistency, particularly around behaviour in some lessons and the reliability of assessment practice.

The academy’s public-facing identity is unusually explicit about values and expectations. Team OSCA is presented through four core ideas, opportunity, scholarship, compassion, and aspiration, and those themes appear in day to day messaging about behaviour, contribution, and academic habits. That kind of clarity often matters for families weighing up whether a school’s culture will feel firm, supportive, or both.

Leadership structure is also worth understanding. Adrian Price is named as Senior Principal, and formal governance information records an appointment date of 01 September 2023 for the headteacher or principal role. This matters because many of the school improvement “feel” changes, curriculum tightening, renewed standards, tend to follow leadership change, and parents usually want to know whether initiatives are well embedded or still bedding in.

The inspection narrative paints a school with high ambition and positive pupil relationships, but with an honest caveat. Most students behave sensibly at break and lunch, and lessons are generally orderly, yet some learning is still affected by poor behaviour in a minority of classrooms. That is not a trivial detail, it is the difference between a calm learning day and a stop start one, particularly for students who need consistent routines.

The school’s GCSE performance sits in the lower band nationally within the FindMySchool rankings. Ranked 2948th in England and 5th in Oldbury for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), performance is below England average, placing it within the bottom 40% of schools in England.

In the latest dataset, Attainment 8 is 39.9. Progress 8 is -0.37, which indicates students make below average progress compared with others who had similar prior attainment. For many families, Progress 8 is the most useful “fairness” measure because it speaks to the impact of teaching and learning over time, rather than just raw grades.

The EBacc picture suggests a relatively small proportion of students are currently securing strong EBacc outcomes, with 9.4% achieving grades 5 or above across the EBacc subjects, and an EBacc average point score of 3.48. For a student who is academically inclined and wants a strongly academic route across a broad suite of subjects, this is a metric to weigh carefully, alongside the school’s stated ambition for its curriculum.

Taken together, the numbers point to a school where improvement work is important. The inspection evidence supports that interpretation by describing a highly ambitious curriculum and consistent subject knowledge, but also identifying areas where practice is not yet consistent across classrooms.

Curriculum planning is described as ambitious and well sequenced, with all students, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, expected to access the same core curriculum with appropriate adaptation rather than dilution. That is a meaningful stance, because it shapes what happens to subject breadth at key stage 3, and it affects whether students are kept on open pathways for key stage 4 options.

In practice, the school’s teaching model includes named routines. The inspection report describes “three to start” tasks at the beginning of lessons, used to check recall and support knowledge building. Where those routines are used precisely, they help students connect new learning to prior knowledge and reduce the chance that gaps quietly widen over time.

The improvement priority is consistency. Some teachers are not checking understanding reliably enough, which means misconceptions can persist and students can move on without secure foundations. Parents of students who need frequent feedback loops, whether for confidence, for attention, or for learning needs, should explore how the school is embedding common assessment practice across departments.

Reading is called out as another development area. The school identifies students who need support, but the systems to diagnose and address specific weaknesses are not yet fully developed, and leaders want more students reading widely and often in school and at home. For families, this is particularly relevant for students entering Year 7 with weaker literacy, since reading confidence underpins success across every subject.

This is an 11 to 16 school, so the key transition is post 16, into sixth form or further education. The inspection evidence describes a comprehensive careers programme for all pupils and notes that students engage positively with it. For a school without its own sixth form, the strength of careers education matters more than usual, because students need guidance on local pathways, subject choices, application timelines, and what different post 16 providers expect.

The school also operates within the provider access duty, which is designed to ensure that students encounter information about technical qualifications and apprenticeships as well as academic routes. Families who want an apprenticeship or college pathway to be treated as a first choice option, not a fallback, should ask about how employer encounters, technical provider visits, and impartial guidance are scheduled through key stage 4.

Because no destination percentages are available in the supplied dataset, it is sensible to approach post 16 outcomes qualitatively. Ask what the school considers a strong destination, how it supports students whose predicted grades shift late in Year 11, and what happens for students who need extra help with applications or interviews.

Year 7 entry is handled through Sandwell’s coordinated admissions process, with academies participating in the scheme. For September 2026 entry, Sandwell’s published timeline states that Year 7 applications could be submitted from 14 July 2025 and the on time deadline was 31 October 2025, with offer day on 02 March 2026.

If a family is applying after the deadline, Sandwell distinguishes between late applications received before offer day and those received after offer day, which can affect how quickly preferences are processed and whether a waiting list position is established early. This is a practical point, not a technicality, because late applications tend to be handled after on time applications in most local authority processes.

The academy also publishes its own determined admissions policy for 2026 to 2027. For parents, the value of reading it is that it sets out definitions, how distance is handled, and the detail around oversubscription criteria within the framework of coordinated admissions.

For in year admissions, the academy directs families to apply through the local authority, which is standard for mid year moves in many areas.

A practical recommendation: if you are shortlisting several local schools, use FindMySchool’s Comparison Tool on your Local Hub page to look at Progress 8, Attainment 8, and EBacc measures side by side, rather than relying on headline Ofsted labels alone.

Personal development appears to be a visible priority. The inspection report highlights structured student leadership in Year 11 and prefect roles in Year 10, framed as responsibility building and contribution to school culture. In many secondaries, leadership roles can be tokenistic; here they are presented as part of the school’s wider expectations around character and conduct.

The PSHE and character development curriculum is described as well planned and sequenced, covering themes such as healthy relationships, fundamental British values, and online safety. For parents, the practical question is how those themes translate into everyday behaviour norms, including how quickly staff respond to incidents, how restorative work is used, and whether students feel safe reporting concerns.

Behaviour is not depicted as uniformly strong. The formal improvement points focus on raising expectations so that learning is not disrupted in some lessons. Families should probe this with specific questions, for example, what happens after repeated low level disruption, how classroom routines are standardised, and how the school supports students whose behaviour is linked to unmet learning needs or literacy difficulties.

The extracurricular offer is best understood as a mix of enrichment, leadership, and practical skills. The inspection report refers to clubs including cooking and a technology themed “mech tech” option, alongside sport, and it notes that students value participation in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and school productions. For students who respond well to hands on learning, clubs like these can be the hook that makes school feel purposeful.

Trips and projects are also part of the picture. A published letter refers to residential opportunities including Plas Gwynant, Duke of Edinburgh activity, and an international trip to Croatia, and it also references a Year 7 First Give project focused on community contribution. These activities do not replace academic learning, but they can be important for confidence, teamwork, and motivation, especially for students who find standard classroom learning challenging.

Facilities, while not framed as luxury, appear solid for sport and events. The academy advertises hireable facilities including grass pitches, two gyms, tennis courts, a fitness studio, and a 3G astro pitch. Separate facilities documentation describes a Great Hall with seating for up to 250 and production capable sound and lighting, which helps explain how school productions can be staged properly rather than as a compromise.

Published timings indicate an early start. Registration is described as 8.35am, with students expected on site by 8.30am, and other school documentation sets out a typical day running from 8.20am, with different finish times across the week. Parents should check the current timetable expectations for their child’s year group, because day structure can vary between year groups and across academic years.

Because this is an 11 to 16 school, there is no sixth form timetable to consider, but Year 11 routines, mock periods, and intervention can extend the learning day in practice. If you rely on fixed childcare arrangements, ask directly how after school intervention is scheduled and how much notice families typically receive.

• Below average progress measures. A Progress 8 score of -0.37 indicates below average progress compared with similar pupils nationally, which matters for families choosing based on academic outcomes as well as culture.

• Consistency of classroom experience. Behaviour is generally respectful, but disruption in some lessons remains an improvement focus, and that can affect learning momentum for students who need calm routines.

• Reading development still embedding. Systems to diagnose and address weaker reading are not yet fully developed, and families of students entering Year 7 with low literacy confidence should explore what targeted support looks like week to week.

• No in house sixth form. Post 16 guidance and application support matter more when students move on at 16, so ask how the school supports college and sixth form applications, interviews, and transition planning.

This is a large local secondary with a clear values framework and an inspection backed emphasis on curriculum ambition, personal development, and staff subject knowledge. It is best suited to families who want a structured school culture, a strong character education thread, and meaningful extracurricular hooks such as technology clubs, productions, and Duke of Edinburgh opportunities. The key decision point is whether academic progress measures and day to day classroom consistency match what your child needs, particularly if they are academically stretched or sensitive to disruption.