Forest Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 8 February 2022

Pupils like their school. They are safe, happy and enjoy learning. Staff plan exciting activities to enhance the curriculum. For example, pupils in Year 6 recently spent two days on a working farm in Somerset developing their collaborative skills. These opportunities help pupils to make sense of the world around them. Pupils behave well. They support each other when difficulties arise - in both the classroom and playground. Pupils know what bullying is, but said that it rarely happens at school. If it did happen, they would tell an adult and expect them to resolve it. Leaders have planned a curriculum that is meaningful to pupils. Pupils learn the core knowledge from the national curriculum through global themes such as power and governance. Staff have high aspirations for all pupils. They expect them to develop core character skills such as integrity and wonder. Pupils respond to these expectations and produce good-quality work. Pupils have many opportunities to lead in their school. The junior leadership team members hold 'surgeries' to listen to the views of their peers. Playground ambassadors assist the youngest pupils during playtimes. Reading ambassadors make book recommendations. Pupils also help the principal to check work in books.

What the school should improve

• Leaders have recently revised the curriculum to make it more relevant to their pupils. Teaching regularly recaps what has been taught. However, occasionally, pupils do not remember key knowledge, and this limits their success in tackling what comes next. Teachers should continue to check on pupils' learning, but make sure that this learning is even more consistently embedded in pupils' long- term memory.

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