Bradford Forster Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 11 February 2025

Pupils form positive relationships with staff at the school. Pupils have trusted members of staff to speak to if they have any concerns. Most pupils feel safe in school. Recently, the school has raised its standards and expectations. However, expectations of what pupils can achieve are still not high enough. Pupils' achievement at the end of key stage 4 is considerably below the national average. This gap has narrowed over the past two years. The school's expectations for pupils' behaviour have increased since the previous inspection. Most pupils' behaviour has improved. However, the poor behaviour of a minority of pupils sometimes disrupts learning. Their conduct in the corridors and at breaktimes can be boisterous, including the use of poor language. As a result, some pupils feel uncomfortable in the corridors. The school works closely with local charities to provide support for its pupils and families. The school offers a free breakfast for all pupils. The school's extra-curricular offer includes a wide range of clubs to build on pupils' talents and interests. However, the delivery of some elements of the personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) curriculum are varied across the school.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, the school has not accurately identified the important knowledge that pupils should learn. As a result, teachers are not clear enough about what they should be teaching and when this content should be taught. This limits how well pupils learn or retain the key knowledge needed to achieve well in these subjects. The school should ensure that in all subjects, important knowledge is identified and sequenced coherently.
• Teachers do not consistently ensure that pupils receive work and activities that help them to remember what has been taught. As a result, some pupils cannot recall recent or prior learning. The school should ensure that teachers provide pupils with tasks that support them to build their knowledge securely.
• Some pupils do not behave well enough. They disrupt lessons and use poor language during unstructured times. In response to this, some staff do not apply the behaviour policy consistently. As a result, some pupils feel uncomfortable in the corridors and are unable to learn during lessons. The school should ensure that all staff consistently apply the behaviour policy, including when addressing poor language.
• The school does not use all the information available to evaluate the impact of new strategies or curriculum developments. As a result, the impact of these changes on pupils is not always fully understood by the school to identify appropriate next steps within the curriculum developments. The school should ensure that leaders at all levels are supported to have a clear understanding of how to track the impact of new strategies or curriculum developments effectively.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)