Forest Academy

Forest Academy is performing strongly overall, showcasing excellent practices in safeguarding, inclusion, and personal development. The school is noted for its commitment to meeting the diverse needs of its pupils, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This dedication is reflected in the effective interventions, supportive environments, and comprehensive curriculum that aims to prepare students well for secondary education and modern life. However, there are some areas of concern regarding achievements in grammar, punctuation, and spelling, which are below average, prompting leaders to revise their teaching strategies.

Strengths

• Strong commitment to safeguarding practices
• Effective inclusion strategies for all pupils
• High-quality personal development curriculum
• Engagement in a variety of extracurricular clubs
• Robust monitoring of pupils' progress
• Effective relationships with families and external partners
• Success in improving Year 1 phonics check scores

Areas for Improvement

• Below average performance in grammar, punctuation, and spelling tests
• Some pupils struggling with spelling and writing skills
• Occasional lack of focus in subject-specific learning activities

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Forest Academy attended 93.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 19.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 1.2% of pupils at Forest Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Forest Academy had 19.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.8% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 15.2% of pupils at Forest Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.6% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Forest Academy received £6,563 and spent £6,433 for each of its 400 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £339,000 (£849 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in West Suffolk · Suffolk local authority: places and applications

What is Forest Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Forest Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in May 2026.

When was Forest Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Forest Academy was last inspected in May 2026.

How many pupils does Forest Academy have?

Forest Academy has 389 pupils on roll.

What age range does Forest Academy cover?

Forest Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Forest Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 54% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Forest Academy?

Forest Academy is at Bury Road, Brandon, Suffolk, IP27 0FP.