Forest Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Forest Academy is a welcoming place for pupils of all cultures and faiths. Pupils enjoy finding out and celebrating the diverse backgrounds of their friends.

There is a friendly atmosphere around the school.Leaders and governors have high expectations for all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They have designed an ambitious curriculum which aims to provide pupils with high-quality education.

Pupils achieve well overall, and in a range of subjects.Pupils feel safe and are happy. Staff have a positive working relationship with pupils, which reflects the school's culture of respect.

Pupils are polite and consider...ate of others. They learn in an orderly and calm environment. In lessons, low-level disruption is not tolerated.

Pupils reported that bullying is not common. When it occurs, leaders deal with it swiftly.Pupils behave well and socialise happily together.

They feel supported and know who to speak with if they have concerns. Staff know pupils well. They have put in place a range of supportive programmes to promote pupils' well-being and mental health.

Leaders use the personal, social and health education (PSHE) programme and careers education as the main pillars for pupils' personal development. Pupils participate in a range of extra-curricular clubs to develop their interests. These range from debate and cooking to basketball and badminton.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have designed an ambitious and well-ordered curriculum for all pupils. The curriculum matches the aims of the national curriculum, and the knowledge that pupils need to learn has been carefully considered. In the main, this knowledge is taught in a logical order to support pupils' subsequent learning.

Leaders are continuing to sharpen their curriculum thinking. They want to further improve how knowledge is sequenced in each subject. In a few areas, such as history, mathematics and languages, leaders' work is not securely embedded.

This affects how well teaching enables pupils to retain knowledge and progressively increase their understanding.

In Years 10 and 11, the number of pupils opting to study a modern foreign language has increased markedly. As a result, the proportion of pupils following the English Baccalaureate qualification is now above the national average.

Leaders ensure that there are a broad range of subjects for pupils to select for their GCSE options.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge and are specialists in their subjects. They model work clearly and promote the use of subject-specific vocabulary across the curriculum.

Teachers set tasks that allow pupils to revisit previous learning. For example, in science, before learning about the function of the lungs, pupils recapped what they had been taught about the organ system of the human body. This approach enables teachers to quickly identify gaps in knowledge and address any misconceptions.

However, across subjects, some inconsistencies remain in how well teachers check pupils' understanding and, where necessary, adjust learning activities to help pupils build up their knowledge. These inconsistencies reduce how well pupils are able to remember learning in the long term and work towards achieving leaders' demanding curriculum goals.

Pupils with SEND have access to the same curriculum as their peers.

Leaders ensure that pupils with SEND are quickly and accurately identified. They know the pupils well and work closely with external agencies to provide professional specialist support when required. Leaders provide training for staff to enable them to meet the needs of pupils with SEND effectively.

Leaders prioritise reading across the curriculum. They ensure that weaker readers are identified when they join the school. These pupils receive targeted support to become fluent readers.

Leaders are taking steps to further develop the school's culture of reading. For example, they have introduced a new reading programme and routinely encourage pupils to read high-quality texts.

Pupils learn in a calm environment and their attendance is high.

Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school.

Leaders put an emphasis on pupils' personal development. Pupils value the PSHE programme.

They learn about healthy relationships, protected characteristics, online safety and British values. Leaders ensure that pupils receive high-quality careers education. This includes workshops from a range of speakers and working with local businesses.

Staff are proud to work at the school. They said that leaders, governors and trustees are mindful of their workload and well-being. Staff receive regular training from the trust in order to improve their expertise.

Governors are knowledgeable and experienced. They have high expectations of pupils' learning, and they hold school leaders to account.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders prioritise safeguarding. They have established a strong culture of safeguarding across the school. Staff are vigilant and know how to report concerns.

The safeguarding team works well with external agencies, including the local authority, to provide support to vulnerable pupils and their families.

Leaders ensure that staff and governors are trained appropriately, and they are regularly provided with refresher training. Leaders keep records meticulously and respond promptly to concerns.

The PSHE curriculum is designed to respond to pupils' experiences and circumstances. For example, it is used to teach pupils about local risks and how to keep themselves safe online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, teachers' checking of pupils' understanding is variable.

When this happens, misconceptions are not routinely addressed and pupils do not develop a deep understanding of key concepts. Leaders should provide staff with training and guidance to strengthen their expertise in identifying and addressing misconceptions, and in turn, ensuring that pupils know more and remember more of their learning. ? While leaders have done much effective work in the strengthening of curriculum sequencing, some subjects are at an early stage of implementation and are not fully embedded.

As a result, sometimes teaching does not help pupils to build securely on what they already know and can do. Leaders should support teachers to follow the planned curriculum thinking. This includes developing expertise in helping pupils to develop knowledge progressively through teaching and revisiting subject content in a logical, well-sequenced manner.