Federation

The Opossum Federation was formed in 2014 and now comprises four primary schools. The schools are all maintained, community schools located in London Borough of Waltham Forest. Newport and Oakhill were recognised by Ofsted as Outstanding Schools in 2024, while Dawlish and Thorpe Hall were acknowledged as Good in recent inspections. Opossum schools recognise and celebrate all abilities and encourage independent thinking. Staff support each other and work well in partnership to ensure all the pupils in our community receive the best education possible.

The federation is built on three core objectives – enriching lives, unleashing possibilities and building futures; these aims are at the heart of all we do within our family of schools. We strive to ensure that our schools retain their individual identities whilst ensuring that they are reflective of our federation ethos.

We believe every pupil deserves a high-quality education that engages, inspires, and challenges them to reach their full potential. We cultivate a safe, happy learning environment built on independence and high expectations. Through a celebration of our rich and diverse community, we provide opportunities that promote open-mindedness, empathy, and citizenship. By dedication to healthy lifestyle choices, we nurture our pupils’ physical, emotional, and moral development—ensuring they leave us as confident, successful, and highly educated members of society.

The Opossum Federation benefits from closely located schools - Newport and Dawlish are a short walk apart in the south of the borough, and Thorpe Hall and Oakhill a short distance from each other in the north of the borough. This offers many opportunities for joint staff working and shared learning experiences for the children from neighbouring schools.

Working in partnership within our federation and with others through informal networks or service level agreements, we are confident that, by sharing our knowledge, experiences and skills, we can benefit, not only as individuals, but also as a collective.