Sires Hill Primary Academy 

Sires Hill Primary Academy opened in September 2023 as Omnia Learning Trust’s fourth school, providing a new primary school and nursery for the growing community in north-east Didcot.

The school was established to serve the new housing development at Valley Park and the wider growth in pupil numbers arising from significant housing development across the Didcot area. It opened with 30 Reception places and up to 45 Nursery places and will grow year by year as its first cohorts move through the school.

Sires Hill builds on Omnia Learning Trust’s established success in Didcot. Didcot Primary Academy, which opened as a brand-new school in 2016, has since grown to capacity and has been judged Outstanding by Ofsted twice.

In May 2026, less than three years after opening, Sires Hill Primary Academy received its first Ofsted inspection and was judged Strong in every area. Visit our webpage to read the report: https://www.sireshillprimaryacademy.org.uk/ofsted-and-performance-data

Alison Ashcroft, the founding Principal of Didcot Primary Academy, is Executive Principal of both schools, enabling the two academies to share expertise, resources and best practice while developing their own distinctive school communities.

Visit Sires Hill Primary Academy for more information.

What does ‘Strong’ mean?

Ofsted introduced a completely new inspection framework in November 2025, replacing the previous overall grades of Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement and Inadequate.

Under the new framework, Strong is a very high judgement. It means that a school is not simply meeting Ofsted’s expectations: inspectors have found consistently strong practice that is making a real difference to children. To achieve Strong, a school must meet all of Ofsted’s Expected standards as well as all of the additional Strong standards in that area.

Although there is no direct comparison with the previous grading system, Strong therefore represents a school performing at a very high level. The new Exceptional judgement is reserved for particular practice that is among the very best nationally and of a quality that should be shared more widely across the education system.

At Sires Hill, every area inspected was judged Strong and safeguarding was met – an achievement of which we are extremely proud.