The Forest School

Overview

The Forest School is a special academy where pupils benefit from an inclusive, well-structured curriculum tailored to their individual needs. The report highlights that pupils have positive relationships with staff and demonstrate exemplary attitudes to learning within a calm, supportive environment. The school has made significant progress since its previous inspection, with leaders ensuring a clear focus on personal development and behaviour.

Strengths

• Pupils exhibit "exemplary" attitudes to learning, remaining "focused and settled in lessons" while following consistent routines.
• The school employs a "total communication" strategy, embedding tools like Makaton and core boards to support language development.
• Behaviour support is described as "excellent," with "highly effective strategies" helping pupils regulate themselves and access the curriculum.
• The personal development programme is a "strength," fostering leadership skills, resilience, and a strong sense of belonging through diverse activities.
• Staff are "highly skilful" in guiding pupils, ensuring they are "exceptionally well supported" to thrive academically and personally.

Areas to improve

• The reading curriculum requires refinement to ensure pupils develop "fluency and confidence," as they currently lack sufficient opportunity to re-read words after sounding them out.
• The writing curriculum must give greater attention to "technical aspects," including spelling, punctuation, grammar, and handwriting, to help pupils write with accuracy.

Safeguarding

The report states that "the arrangements for safeguarding are effective."