Fulham Cross Academy

Overview

Fulham Cross Academy continues to be a good school where pupils enjoy attending and feel safe within a welcoming community. The curriculum is described as "ambitious and well structured," with a strong focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, preparing pupils effectively for their next steps. Leaders have successfully adapted the school’s ethos to support its transition to a mixed-gender environment.

Strengths

• The curriculum is "ambitious and well organised," ensuring pupils revisit and embed key concepts, with successful sequencing in subjects like science and history.
• Teachers "know their subjects well" and present information clearly, while leaders are ambitious for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, adapting teaching so they access the same curriculum.
• Leaders plan well for pupils’ wider development, including strong careers provision, work experience, and a wide range of enrichment activities such as residential trips and after-school clubs.
• Staff and governors are well trained in safeguarding, ensuring concerns are "picked up and reported swiftly," and the curriculum helps pupils learn to manage their own safety.
• Leaders engage well with stakeholders and are "sensitive to staff workload," fostering a supportive environment where staff describe working there as "like being part of a family."

Areas to improve

• Leaders should ensure teachers use assessment to carefully check what pupils already know, as some teaching does not identify errors or misconceptions consistently.
• Leaders must ensure all staff respond to incidences of derogatory language with "consistent rigour and robustness," as some incidents are not currently tackled with the same consistency.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with a strong culture where staff are well trained to recognise risks and work closely with outside agencies to support vulnerable pupils.