Landau Forte Academy, QEMS

Landau Forte Academy, QEMS is a caring, ambitious and welcoming school where pupils are happy and feel known as individuals. This full inspection found safeguarding standards met and strong provision in attendance and behaviour, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Behaviour is a particular strength, attendance is good, and leaders are highly responsive to pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and other vulnerable groups. Leaders have brought about rapid improvement, governance and trust support are effective, and parents are highly positive. Achievement and curriculum/teaching are judged at the expected standard. Pupils achieve well in external examinations, especially in vocational subjects, and outcomes are improving across GCSE subjects, but consistency is not yet secure. The report notes that some pupils can struggle to recall key knowledge or technical concepts, which limits the consistent academic excellence leaders are striving for. The main next step is to continue refining teaching consistency so pupils build the key knowledge they need to excel across the curriculum. The school is part of Landau Forte Charitable Trust and has a new Head of School since the last inspection.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, feel known as individuals and benefit from positive relationships with staff.
• Attendance is strong, and leaders proactively support pupils who struggle to attend regularly.
• Behaviour is a particular strength; pupils are courteous, respectful and apply themselves well.
• Inclusion is highly responsive for pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and vulnerable pupils.
• Leaders have brought about rapid and highly effective improvement across the school.
• Governance and trust support are strong, with well-informed challenge and resources for a growing school.
• Personal development and wellbeing are significant strengths, including strong pastoral support.
• Pupils benefit from an extensive range of clubs, trips, sports and enrichment opportunities.
• Careers education starts early and helps pupils move on to ambitious destinations.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture and pupils taught how to stay safe.
• Pupils achieve well in external examinations, especially in vocational subjects.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching consistency needs further refinement so pupils build the key knowledge they need to excel across the curriculum.
• Some pupils can struggle to recall key knowledge or more technical concepts, limiting consistent academic excellence.
• Achievement is not yet consistently strong across the full range of GCSE subjects.

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 Landau Forte Academy, QEMS attended 93.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 18.3% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 8.9% of pupils at Landau Forte Academy, QEMS were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 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 Landau Forte Academy, QEMS had 19.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.5% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 10.7% of pupils at Landau Forte Academy, QEMS were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Landau Forte Academy, QEMS received £8,119 and spent £9,702 for each of its 938 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £102,000 (-£108 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of Landau Forte Charitable Trust, income was £8,169 and spending £7,929 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 Tamworth · Staffordshire local authority: places and applications

Landau Forte Academy, QEMS is part of Landau Forte Charitable Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Landau Forte Academy Tamworth Sixth Form Tamworth
• Landau Forte Academy, Amington Tamworth
• Landau Forte Academy Greenacres Tamworth
• Landau Forte Academy Moorhead Derby
• Landau Forte College Derby

What is Landau Forte Academy, QEMS's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Landau Forte Academy, QEMS is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Landau Forte Academy, QEMS last inspected by Ofsted?

Landau Forte Academy, QEMS was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Landau Forte Academy, QEMS have?

Landau Forte Academy, QEMS has 1,029 pupils on roll.

What age range does Landau Forte Academy, QEMS cover?

Landau Forte Academy, QEMS for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Landau Forte Academy, QEMS's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 46.3, and 38% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Landau Forte Academy, QEMS?

Landau Forte Academy, QEMS is at Ashby Road, Tamworth, Staffordshire, B79 8AH.