The Forge Secondary Short Stay School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 10 April 2024

This is a calm and caring school. Pupils feel safe here. Most pupils settle well and build positive relationships with their peers during their time at the school. Pupils join the school following a period of turbulence in their own education, and many do not feel positive about their experiences in their previous schools. Leaders are acutely aware of this, and pupils' past experiences are well understood. Leaders use this knowledge to rebuild pupils', parents' and carers' trust in education. Over time, this work is helping many pupils to begin to gradually re-engage with their education. Despite this, some pupils do not attend as often as they ought, and there is more to be done to build a culture of good attendance. Leaders have high expectations and are ambitious for pupils. There is a growing culture of mutual respect between staff and pupils. However, too often, pupils do not behave well. They disrupt lessons and learning time is lost. Any incidents of bullying are dealt with quickly and effectively. Recently, leaders have begun to pay closer attention to pupils' individual learning needs when they join the school. They build a detailed picture of the help and support that pupils need to be successful. However, staff do not always use this knowledge well enough to meet pupils' needs in lessons as well as they could. This holds pupils back.

What the school should improve

• Some pupils do not attend school often enough, and for a small minority, their attendance drops further while at the school. These pupils are missing too much of their education. The school should work closely with the local authority, and other external agencies, to provide effective support to these pupils and their families to help in overcoming the barriers to good attendance and ensure that all pupils attend school often.
• In some lessons, pupils' behaviour distracts from the intended learning. Some staff do little to challenge this. This disrupts learning for others. Leaders should make sure they continue their work to redefine their approach to behaviour management, and monitor the impact of this work carefully, to ensure that all staff apply this approach consistently, and that pupils receive the targeted support they need to improve their behaviour.
• Some staff do not use the information they have about pupils' individual needs well enough in lessons. Consequently, some pupils' needs are not being sufficiently met, and they struggle to access the learning. Leaders should ensure that all staff routinely make use of the information they have about pupils' needs in order to implement effective strategies to meet pupils' needs within lessons.
• In some subjects, the school has not defined the precise knowledge that pupils will learn. Where this happens, teachers are not clear about the knowledge pupils are expected to learn. Because of this, at times the things pupils learn do not build well on the things they already know. This holds pupils back. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is equally well planned across all subjects, so that the knowledge to be taught is clearly defined, and that teachers use this information to plan and teach.

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